Unquenchable Flames
by Burke-The-GM
Summary: AU focusing on the death of Ozai and the capture of the Avatar Aang
1. Prologue: The Breaking of a Brotherhood,

Sokka didn't know as what point the battle began to take a turn for the worse, but he supposed it was when he lost his boomerang. He didn't bother to try to take it out of the back of the Fire Nation soldier it had embedded itself in, meaning to come back for it later. Unfortunately, the fighting drew him elsewhere, away from his trusted weapon. Therefore, he didn't have it when he had a clear shot at Azula that she wouldn't have time to defend herself from.

That, he mused, was the beginning.

He noticed Azula was regaining some of her spark, and desperately prayed to Yue, willing her to stay for a few minutes more.

Then the reinforcements came.

If wars were won by numbers, they should have turned tail and ran. Or at least regrouped. It wasn't a large force Aang had gathered—just the combined strengths of the Water Tribes and a few Earth Kingdom guerrilla groups. They hadn't needed an insanely large army; just one big enough to get Aang to the Fire Lord. Now Sokka was desperately wishing for more—or at least better-trained—soldiers.

Men he had been in charge of, eaten with, laughed with, trained with, were dying around him, singed, burned, cut down. He looked around frantically for the others. Katara was fine as far as he could tell—bloody and sweaty, but okay. She was doing some kind of octopus-water thingy, which covered her pretty well. Aang was battling hard, using every element he had in his arsenal, even metal and lightning, which Toph and Zuko had been teaching him. He hadn't entered the Avatar state yet, but Sokka was confident it would be soon.

And Toph. Toph was causing mass chaos on the field, folding soldiers into her earthy embrace, shooting them high into the air, crushing them under boulders. If what she was doing bothered her, she hid it well. He spared his friends a few seconds' glace each before neatly slicing into Fire Nation armor and flesh alike.

The eclipse was over, but the battle was far from it. They fought until a few straggling allies (about thirty) and their four leaders were left, crowded in a tight ball, compressed by Fire Nation steel on all sides. Azula shot a bolt of lightning into the sky, and the soldiers on both sides stopped abruptly.

"Well," she began sardonically, "You rebel scum have been a prick in my foot all day. A good effort," her eyes raked their ranks, "but annoying. Zuzu, so nice of you to show your true colors. And Mai. Dear, dear, we do have a problem." Sokka jerked his head around to check if they were alright. Like them all, the two of them were smoke-smudged and tired, but alright.

"I have an offer for you." Azula continued, "Surrender your leaders—" she looked at each of them in turn, a malicious gleam in her eyes, "—and you may join the Fire Nation Army and live."

"Never." Sokka's heart skipped a beat as his father, Hakoda, shouted his answer at the princess and spat at her feet.

"Water Tribe." Azula inspected the saliva muddying the dirt with mild interest. "Always a pleasure. Pity we couldn't conquer your pathetic icy wastelands…until now."

In one swift motion she casually lifted her fingers and began the set for lightning. Sokka watched in horror as the sky-fire grew out of her fingertips towards his father. He hefted his sword and would have charged her if Aang hadn't stepped in front of Hakoda at the last second, deflecting it expertly.

"If you spare them—and let them go free—you can have me." Aang said fearlessly, grey eyes like polished stones.

"Aang, no!" Katara stepped up to him, brown hair twisting wildly in the foul wind. "She can have me, we can't lose—"

"Katara." Aang turned to her, "Please."

She backed down.

"Hmm…the Avatar." Azula's eyes roved over him; Sokka got the feeling it was similar to how a butcher looked at a future pork chop. "I could just kill you now, but then we'll have to go through the whole annoying process of finding you all over again." She sighed. "Seize them."

The army rushed them, and for the second time that day the fighting resumed, this time with new intensity. Sokka's sword sang with bloodlust, and he fell into a kind of pattern—in, out, swing, stab, slice, in out. He found his boomerang again, just as Aang entered the Avatar state.

It was power as he'd never seen before, glowy and devastating. A group of Fire Nation soldiers screamed as they cooked inside their armor at Aang's raging fire. Another cluster disappeared under the earth, much deeper than where Toph had pulled them. Sokka winced. There was lava down there. Another group was trapped by ice so thick and cold fire couldn't melt it. The tornado was the worst—like a giant, twisting snake of air, it ripped through the ranks until the only thing keeping the army there was fear of Azula if they ran. Sokka had trouble looking at the dead and dying—Aang had never been so efficient—or cruel—before.

Azula had a moderately impressed look on her face.

"Bravo, Avatar." She applauded slowly; each time her hands came together echoed across the battlefield. "You've still got the rest of us to deal with."

And the Fire Nation kept coming. And coming. And coming. As fast as the rebellion could cut them down three more were in their place. There was no end to them.

"Aang!" Katara yelled, "There's too many of them! We need to retreat!"

"Fall back!" Sokka sliced and clubbed his way towards Toph. "Tell everyone to fall back!"

The small rebellion group, by some miracle, broke away and ran full-speed for the ships they had stolen, minus one Avatar.

"Sokka!" Katara called, "Get them out of here! I'm staying behind!"

"Oh, no, you don't!" Sokka grabbed her arm, "If you're staying, then so am I!"

"Not without me, you're not!" Toph earthbended a bridge up to the ship so what was left of their forces could get on.

"Don't be ridiculous, we can't all stay! Someone has to lead the others!" the waterbender threw her hands up as her brother's face set stubbornly.

"Hey, Dad! Dad!" Sokka shouted. Hakoda turned just as he was about to board. "You're in charge now!" he hoped that he had heard as the three friends turned around and ran back towards Aang.

After that, the fighting was a blur. Soldiers fell to his blade, Katara's ice, and Toph's earth in their mad rush to reach Aang. He was holding his own very well, considering the odds.

Katara and Azula were soon locked in a fierce battle of wills, fire clashing against water, lightning defending against ice. Sokka could only catch glimpses of it as he covered Toph from her smarter opponents.

In a sudden, deadly movement Azula danced around Katara's formidable defenses and wrapped an arm around her neck. With her free hand she shot fire into the sky and then jabbed her smoking fingertips under her captive's jaw.

Needless to say, the fighting stopped abruptly.

"Put her down, Azula." Aang, still in the Avatar state, never sounded so dangerous. Sokka felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, in fear as much as rage.

"You're in no position to bargain, Avatar." Azula's voice had a wild edge, contrasting sharply with her cultured overtone. "You are all mine now. Mine!"

"Let her go." Aang growled still lower, jaw tightening.

"You try anything, and I'll fry her brains in her skull and make you eat it. You're powerless, Avatar. I've won…again." Azula's fingers poked harder against Katara's skin.

"If you hurt her, I promise you that what happened to your men will seem as easy as passing on in your sleep." Aang's teeth were on edge, his arrows shining brightly through his hair and clothes. Something had to give, Sokka knew it.

"I'd like to see you tr—" a sudden, high-pitched scream cut Azula's words cleanly in half, as she would have been if she hadn't thrown Katara away from her any later. Aang hurled himself at Azula, a wild yowl ripping from his chest.

"We need to get out of here!" Katara yelled hoarsely.

"Not yet!" Aang, for once, sounded like a child again. "Not when we're so close!"

"I think Sugar Queen has a point, Twinklet—" Sokka saw Toph fall first, clutching her side, heard her scream second. Everything went numb. Not Toph, it couldn't happen to Toph, she was too strong….

Sokka was dimly aware of the carnage he was causing as he rushed to his friend's side. It was like when Yue had died or when Suki had (nearly) been hurt, except worse, much, much worse…he couldn't feel, couldn't see anything but the huddled form of the Blind Bandit, someone was screaming, he wished they would stop, it was getting annoying—

"Shut up, Snoozles, I'm fine!" Toph's weak voice cleared the fog in his head, and he closed his mouth just as the screaming stopped.

"You're not _fine _, Toph, you're—" he drew in a sharp breath at the torn, bleeding flesh beneath her burned, oversized tunic. "You need a healer. _Now _."

"Tell that to…Airboy over there…" Toph gritted her teeth against the pain. "He's worse off than I am."

It was true, Sokka realized as he looked at Aang. Katara would have a field day, if only they could get _out _of there….

"Aang! It's no use! We're outnumbered!" Katara shouted desperately. "Come on!"

The airbender looked around and, finally, agonized, nodded. He took out a small white whistle in between blows at Azula and blew as hard as he could.

A roaring answered him a heart-stopping ten seconds later, and Appa's fuzzy white figure appeared in the sky. Katara cleared a little landing room for the large bison, and helped Sokka get Toph aboard.

"Come on!" he heard his sister cry as he adjusted his friend a little more comfortably.

"I can't." Aang said sadly. "I'm the one she wants. I have to stay."

"But—" Katara began to protest, but Aang buried Azula up to her chin and walked slowly towards her. The soldiers wisely got out of his way.

"Get out of here." He told her. "Live."

"Not without you."

"I need you to, Katara." Aang's voice strained. "If anything ever happened to you, when I could have prevented it…" he struggled with himself for a moment, "I love you, Katara."

Sokka blinked in shock as Katara threw herself at Aang, and his jaw dropped when she kissed him fiercely.

"You…never noticed before, Snoozles?" Toph chuckled brokenly. Her breath was becoming shallow.

"Lie still." He turned his attention back to his fallen friend. "You'll hurt yourself even worse."

An anguished cry rang in his ears as Katara suddenly flopped on Appa's head, and he grabbed Toph tightly as Appa was launched bodily into the air. Looking over the edge of the bison's fluffy flank, Sokka watched in despair as a pale, still glowy figure put up a terrific fight against an eventually overwhelming wave of black and red.

"She won't kill him." Toph mumbled. "She said it herself."

"If only Katara were so sure." _And me _, Sokka thought as he looked at his sister. She had curled up in a small ball, blue eyes glassy and unseeing.

The invasion had failed. The Avatar was captured. The comet was coming.

All hail the Fire Nation.

The Breaking of a Brotherhood, Part Two

"Stop mothering me, Snoozles!" Toph yelled irritably. "I'm okay!"

"A sprained ankle is not 'fine'." Sokka frowned. Not that she could see it. He could clearly see her ugly expression, even if her bangs were in her face.

The minute they'd reached land Katara had wordlessly healed them and set off for nowhere; Toph had followed her until, mysteriously, she vanished. Sokka was worried sick, and Toph was sick of him worrying over everything else, too.

"I'll _be _fine." She grumbled. For the past month or so they had been wandering together with Momo and Appa. They had gotten along extremely well—until Toph accidentally tangled with a tree vine. The vine's swift victory fell to Sokka's machete, but not before her tiny ankle suffered some severe strain. Now Sokka barely left her on her own, which Toph, a girl who loved her privacy, found distinctly irritating.

"I can't even pee without you following me!" Toph had said, and she thought it as true now as it had been then.

"We need to look after each other." Sokka had replied. That was true, too.

Toph was still a formidable bender, sprained ankle or no. If he pushed her past her breaking point, he'd find himself up to his nose in earth, just to shut him up. But the month had taught him a lot about his earthbending friend. Such as how patient she could be in the mornings (he still had the shadows from the bruises she had given him that first week). Or how adorable she was when she snored (he was too smart to mention it to her). Or how rosy her cheeks got when she was either really angry or really embarrassed. And once he'd caught her crying. That he tried not to think about.

It had been the night after she'd lost Katara. He'd been meaning to take a bath in the stream by their camp, and had just started washing his hair when the barest of snufflings pervaded his ears. Sinking until his eyes were almost level with the water, he swam slowly in their direction. The first thing that registered in his mind was that Toph was there, her back turned towards him. The second was that she was crying. The third…the third was that she was probably in the middle of bathing, as well.

His face turned beet red, and his mouth dropped open (and promptly closed again as he swallowed water) as he tried to retract his eyeballs back behind his lids. He really did try not to trace her curvy (not as much as Katara's) silhouette, and equally ignore that Toph—brave, smart, strong Toph—was crying, but it was harder to do when it was _Toph _. She didn't cry. She wasn't that kind of girl—much less the kind of girl that he should admire like a…like a _man _, he supposed.

Mustering up his failing courage, he swam respectfully and shame-facedly away.

Toph had returned some time later, dry-eyed and caustic as ever, and asked boredly what Sokka was so worked up about. He thanked the spirits she couldn't see him blush.

Now she was glaring at him as he fussed over her and the campsite, gathering wood and feeding Appa and Momo and things like that.

"Oh, no," he groaned. "Don't tell me…"

"What, Snoozles?" Toph began playing with her space rock.

"We left the blankets a few miles back." He smacked his forehead. It was too dark to try to go back and get them, now.

"Then I guess we'll just have to sleep together, won't we?" she shrugged. "At least until we get some new ones."

Sokka couldn't have blushed redder if he tried.

"What?" she asked. She'd felt his heartbeat speed up drastically. "It's just for a few nights. We can curl up against Appa, if it'll make you feel better. It'll be much warmer than bare earth."

He had to swallow hard before agreeing.

Later that night Toph hobbled over to Appa, where she laid down and waited for Sokka.

"Hurry up, meathead, it's cold." She grumped.

"O-okay." He couldn't quite repress the slight stutter in his voice. That night weeks before kept playing in his mind, somehow sharper and clearer than before.

He hesitated a moment before stepping behind her expectant gaze and lowering himself to the ground. Toph backed into him until she was snugly settled in the curve of his body, snorting and hawing until she was comfortable. Sokka marveled at how _tiny _she was compared to him. She fit right where she was, snuggled against him with her head right under his chin. Tentatively he reached an arm around her waist and pulled her the slightest bit closer—for more warmth, he told himself firmly. It had nothing to do with how good she smelled—crisp and clean and…earthy. It had nothing to do with the silky smoothness of the bare inch of exposed belly peeking from under her shirt. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the sudden desire to bury his face in her jet-black hair.

It was going to be a long night.

************  
>The next morning found Sokka and Toph facing each other, her face buried in his chest. Toph awoke first, and tried half-heartedly to detach herself from her friend's arms. Sokka muttered something about Suki and tightened his grip.<p>

Crashing, heartbreaking rejection swept through her thirteen-year-old body. It always came back to Suki. She must have been beautiful, Toph thought hopelessly. She was beautiful and brave and strong and…

_Not like me _, she thought. It brought Toph from Sokka's warm embrace (how she wanted to stay there!). Noticing that the warmth had gone, Sokka opened his eyes blearily.

"Toph?" he called softly. "Wassamatta?" He woke up fully when he saw her tear-streaked face.

"I can't compete with her." She said quietly.

"Who?" Sokka sat up. "Why?"

"I can't win with Suki as an opponent." Toph turned back around. "And I can't be around you anymore and know that. Goodbye, Sokka. I'm sorry."

"Toph, what—No!" he yelled as she disappeared beneath the earth. "Toph!"

Sokka slammed his fists on the ground where Toph had left. She was gone.


	2. A Problem and a Solution

"It's unacceptable!" Koi yelled, stomping his foot. "He's Fire Nation! My daughter is Water Tribe!"

"I don't see a problem." Sokka said coldly. He'd heard Koi's argument a hundred times already. "They love each other. They're going to get married. I'd marry them myself, but I'm not authorized."

"You—" Koi began, but Sokka had heard enough. Bad-temperedly he slammed his black sword into the ice floor next to him.

"What don't you get?" he shouted, making the igloo rattle. "Zen's parents don't have any problems, Lota's mother approves—why are you so stubborn? You've been outvoted!"

"He's—he's _Fire Nation _!" Koi spluttered, throwing his hands up.

"So?" Sokka raised an eyebrow. He liked Zen. He was alright—for a firebender. And he had been the one to tell Sokka that he had information on the Avatar. They hadn't had time to speak; since he'd met Lota, Zen had spent every moment he could with her. "Fire Nation does not equal evil. Azula equals evil." Koi flinched at the name of the Fire Lord.

For two years, since the tragic and sudden death of her father, she had been conquering more and more, until the Southern Water Tribe had to flee to the North to survive. The Earth Kingdom was bearing the brunt of Azula's cruelty, as Ba Sing Se was like her second capital. He'd heard rumors of a small resistance army gathering in the rural borders of the Earth Kingdom, headed by someone they called the Queen of Thieves. Sokka hid a smile at the thought. She'd come a long way from the Blind Bandit.

But back to the matter at hand.

"As temporary Southern Water Tribe chief and ambassador to the Northern Water Tribe, I hereby give Zen and Lota permission to…eh…marry each other." Sokka nodded at the ecstatic, dark-haired boy in the corner and grinned as he rushed out the door. "You can leave, Koi."

Sourly, he nodded and left. Sokka leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

Had it really been two years since the Day of Black Sun? Poor Aang. He'd been under Azula's thumb all that time. He probably thought they'd abandoned him.

And Katara. Spirits, he missed her. He needed her diplomacy at times like this, and having the Waterbending Master from the South could come in handy. Mostly, he missed his sister.

A loud knock at the door brought him from his musings.

"Morning, Chief." Hakoda walked in, carrying two steaming mugs of something hot.

"Morning, Dad." Sokka fixed a smile on his face and accepted a mug. Hakoda had elected Sokka as chief to give him some leadership experience, but Sokka made it clear he was only temporary, and had remained such for the past year and a half. "Ready to take your title back yet?"

"Not yet." Hakoda grinned. He'd said the same thing for the past six months. "What's up?"

"Koi finally stood down and let Lota marry Zen." Sokka took a sip and burned his tongue on the hot liquid.

"Speaking of marriage…" his father began, but Sokka's glare stopped him cold.

"I'm not getting married, Dad." He growled. "Any woman I meet will just die." A few months after Toph left he'd found Suki—or what was left of her. Azula had been thorough, and the earth had begun her own work. He'd never forget when he picked up one of her half-buried golden fans—a kind of electric shock had run through his body, painful and so sharp a few tears leaked from his eyes. A tear or two became a flood; he spent the better part of the day sobbing his heart out by her rotting bones.

Now, he was adamant—he would die alone to save whatever woman he happened to meet, along with his shattered heart. He'd had the nightmares again, the ones he had after Yue became the moon spirit, the ones that Toph's turbulent presence had erased. Or so he thought. After finding Suki they had returned full force.

It was for the best, he told himself—he hadn't forgotten Toph's last, cryptic messages, and felt he understood her well enough. She was jealous of Suki. She'd liked him. A lot, if she had started crying again. He'd spent many a night visualizing her dirty, bold, take-no-garbage face, her short, powerful form, her haunting, blank, jade-green eyes….

"Sokka?" his father's voice brought him back to reality.

"Yeah, Dad?" the young warrior pulled himself out of those memories with a shake. Now was not the time.

"I just said that you have a letter." Hakoda shook his head. "From somewhere foreign; we're not sure of where because the outside's blank except for something smeared on the back."

"I'll read it." Sokka extended his hand for the letter Hakoda was now holding. He studied the stain carefully. It was greenish-brown and small and pretty hard, as if…Sokka didn't know whether to retch or weep with joy.

It was a dried booger.

_Toph _.

Eagerly he ripped the envelope open and read the flowing handwriting.

"_ Dear Snoozles, _", it began, and Sokka grinned.

"_ I'm getting Ma (Mai) to write this for me. It's about all Sparky (Zuko) will let her do nowadays (she's pregnant)._"

Well, there's some news, he thought.

"_ There's something you need to see. Hawky knows the way. See you. Toph. _"

"Hawky?" Sokka asked aloud, incredulous.

"The hawk that delivered it?" Hakoda shrugged. "He kept screeching louder than Koi and flew off towards Appa's stable."

Appa and Momo were still with him, thank Agni. There wasn't any other place for them to go, really—Sokka was the only one left.

"I'm leaving." Sokka stood up. "As soon as possible. There's something I need to do."

Hakoda only nodded. "Southern Water Tribe chief business?"

"No," Sokka didn't bother to correct him, "Sokka business. Send Zen in to me."

Slightly startled, Hakoda left and shouted out. Zen came running.

"I need that information now, Zen." Sokka sat back down. "All of it. As quick as you can."

"I was a guard for the Avatar." Zen rapped out smartly. "It wasn't pretty—Fire Lord Azula came in about once a day, and at first he screamed the entire time. Some of it was pretty embarrassing stuff, actually. After a while he kept quiet, and she stopped coming so often. But the Avatar is still alive, and sane, last I saw—I used to talk to him on the night shifts, him and some old guy my senior officer called the Dragon of the West—"

"Iroh." Sokka interrupted, awestruck. He didn't think the man was still alive.

"Yeah, him. Some girl kept them company when no one was around—brown hair and grey eyes, pink outfit, could bend herself into shapes I never thought possible—"

"Ty Lee." This time pure shock colored his voice.

"She always got out of the way when the Fire Lord came around, like she was scared of her. Well, we all were, but leaving your post because your leader scares you gets you killed." Zen shrugged. "The Avatar and Iroh used to tell me about how the Fire Nation used to be, and what's going on didn't sound right, so I took a leave of absence, gathered up my family, and got out of there. The Avatar told me about someone he called the Warrior of the Black Sword, and I heard stories about you, so we came here."

"Very good, soldier." Sokka rose. "Dismissed." Warrior of the Black Sword? He liked it. And, he thought as he gathered up a light pack and ran out the door, it was better than Snoozles or meathead. Okay, Snoozles wasn't so bad.

Sokka learned to ignore how people reacted to him when he stepped outside. Men and women far older than him hailed him, children called for him to play, girls flirted and fluttered their eyelashes, boys held aloft their weapons in salute. At first he liked it, but after a while it got annoying. Now he took no notice of them. He had to get to Appa.

Appa and Momo and Hawky all looked at him expectantly when he burst through the door to the stables.

"Time to go." Was all he said before Appa lowered himself far enough for him to clamber on. "Yip yip!"

Forget doors; Appa blew off the roof in his eagerness to return to the skies.

"Follow Hawky." He told Appa, who grunted in reply. Momo flew alongside the bird, chattering happily. Sokka yelled wordlessly, adding his voice to that of his animal friends.

Finally, after two long years, he was feeling free.

**A/N**

**I would like to thank all the people who have decided to give this story a chance so far. And here's to even more fans in the future!**


	3. Of Planning and Utter Amazement

"You sure this is the place?" Sokka asked Hawky nervously. The bird blinked in reply, ruffling his feathers as if insulted. It was a hill, smooth and grassy, and no hidden entrances anywhere. Sokka had checked twice.

"Probably need to earthbend to get in," he muttered darkly.

"How right you are, Fire Nation scum." A quiet voice answered him. Sokka felt his hackles rise as he spun around.

"Fire Nation?" He snarled before noticing the small boy in front of him. "I'm not Fire Nation. I'm not even dressed like Fire Nation. These are Water Tribe clothes."

"Whatever." He couldn't have been more than eight or nine. "Everyone knows the Fire Nation has spies everywhere."

"Seriously, I'm not—ow!" Sokka rubbed his arm where a pebble the boy had earthbended hit him. "I don't want to fight y—ouch!"

"Steady on, there, Li." A strong voice that radiated authority called from underground, and a tall, muscular man popped up like a groundhog. "He's a friend."

"Really?" Li asked, his eyes widening. "I'm sorry!"

"That's okay." Sokka touched his forehead gingerly, grinning. "You were right to be on your guard. You'll make the real Fire Nation quake in their boots. Hey, Haru."

"Sokka." The earthbender greeted him. His moustache had grown to a full beard since they'd last met, his eyes harder. "Sifu Bei Fong is waiting for you."

"I bet." Sokka mumbled. "But how do you get in the blasted place?"

"How else?" Haru winked. "Come on. She's getting impatient."

It was disconcerting to see solid earth engulfing two people and three animals as if it were water, but it was worse for Sokka, who had never gotten over his mindset of bending being magic.

"You've improved, I see." Sokka said casually to Haru, who smiled as he pulled them farther under. When they finally reached what Haru called headquarters, the Water Tribe warrior's jaw dropped. It was a large underground cave, crisscrossed with tunnels and catacombs, filled to the brim with people.

"Sifu Bei Fong constructed this all on her own." Haru walked on, amid the green and gold of the Earth Kingdom and a smattering of Fire Nation red and black.

"Seriously?" Sokka gaped. It seemed too huge for one tiny earthbender to have created by herself.

"Of course." Haru raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if you've noticed, but she is rather proficient at earthbending."

Sokka soon became dizzy with all the twisting, turning tunnels, and eventually Haru stopped him in front of a large door carved with the symbol of the Earth Kingdom.

"I'll announce you." Haru promised, opening the door. As it closed he heard a familiar voice say something unintelligible.

Five minutes later an explosion occurred from inside. Next thing he knew the door had flown open and something else flew at him, knocking him to the ground.

"Sokka!" it squealed. "I wasn't sure if you were coming!"

"Toph…" Sokka gasped, "Can't…breathe…"

"Whoops." She sat up, and he had a hard time keeping shock from his expression. If Toph had been pretty as a thirteen-year-old, fifteen-year-old Toph was beautiful. Her face had sharpened considerably, taking on the more angular shape common to the Earth Kingdom. Her bangs were still in her jade green eyes, her enormous bun traded for a braid not unlike Katara's old one (minus hair loopies). Having grown several inches taller, her Blind Bandit garb no longer fit; she swapped it for a more streamlined version, including a sleeveless green tunic and yellow pants that cut off just under her knees. "Sorry."

She was still straddling him, and Sokka was getting uncomfortable. "So…seems like you're doing well."

"You bet!" Whatever her appearance, Toph was still very much a child. "Only difference is I'm alone, really."

"Aren't we all?" Sokka said softly. Toph stood and offered a hand.

"General Snoozles and I have business to discuss, Fuzzface." Toph addressed Haru, who thumbed his beard and frowned. "I need _total _privacy until I come out, okay?"

"As you command, Sifu Bei Fong." Haru bowed, a small sarcastic smile playing on his lips, and strode down the hall.

As soon as the door was shut Toph earthbended a wall of rock in front of it and turned around.

"I know where Katara is," she began.

"That's good. I know where Aang is." Sokka grinned. "How's Katara? Is she here?"

"Um…no, Sokka." Toph fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "Well…she's not exactly our beloved Sugar Queen anymore. She's…different."

"Different how?" he had a sinking feeling in his chest.

"You remember the Leaf Heads?" Sokka nodded. "Well, she's been hiding out in their swamp, working on her waterbending. I think…" she took a deep breath. "I think she's been using her bloodbending, too. A lot. Not on humans, but on animals and stuff."

Sokka's heart dropped somewhere around his feet. He remembered the first time Katara had used bloodbending, how trembling and shaky she'd been. If she was using it fluently….

"Sokka, she attacked me." Toph sounded small and frightened. "She didn't recognize me…she kept calling me Azula."

"You _do _look different, Toph, but you're no Azula." Sokka pulled her into a hug. "If you were anything like her, do you think we'd be friends?"

"I guess not." Toph sniffled and scrubbed at her eyes violently. "Anyway, tell me about Twinkletoes."

"I think he and Katara are in the same boat, except for Katara's nutcase issues." He rested his chin on her head. "Apparently Azula's been torturing him for the past two years, but Ty Lee and Iroh have been helping him through it. He's grown up, I suppose."

"Where'd you get that information?"

"A former guard of his." Sokka shrugged.

"Now what do we do?" Toph turned in his arms and looked at him (or rather, turned her face towards his).

"First we find Katara." Sokka released her. "Then we find Aang."

*********

"Hey! Ma! Sparky! Front and center!" Toph yelled into the training grounds. Sokka stared, open-mouthed. Haru was teaching a small group of earthbenders; Zuko dismissed his class of firebenders and helped Mai up to the platform. Only a group of waterbenders, both in blue and in green, were still practicing teacherless.

"Yes, Sifu?" Mai asked, perfectly respectful. Sokka's eyes almost bugged out of his head. The ring on her finger was incredibly ornate, but her belly…she looked about ready to pop, she was so huge. Zuko's hair was about the same, long and in his face, but he looked much friendlier than before, if more careworn.

"Snoozles and I are going to recover Sugar Queen and Twinkletoes." Toph began before Zuko interrupted her.

"Then we're finally going to do something instead of sitting around?" he asked.

"Yes, Sparky." Toph sighed. "I want them training harder and faster—we will _not_ be outnumbered like last time. I need recruiting rates doubled—no, tripled—and this lot ready for battle as soon as possible. We're getting a second chance at this," Toph stood proudly, her braid swinging, "And we are _not_ going to screw this one up."

"As you wish, Sifu." Zuko had a slight twitch in the corner of his mouth as he and Mai bowed and exited. Zuko began yelling orders the minute they descended the stairs.

"Do you really think we can do this?" Sokka asked as Toph earthbended them up a few tunnels.

"It's worth a try." Toph grunted. "Let's get going."

A few hours later Appa was saddled, provisions were packed, orders were given, and Sokka was behind the reigns as Toph stood up to make a speech to the gathered rebellion.

"Alright, people, listen up!" She began eloquently. "Sokka and I are leaving to get our friends, including the Avatar." A brief cheer echoed through the cave, "And you know what that means?" Several heads shook. "It means this war is almost over. Once Azula's taken care of—" another cheer, "—it'll finally be time for peace and equality to take her place. For Aang!"

"For the Avatar!" the crowd roared back, applauding and cheering wildly as Sokka flipped the reigns and Toph earthbended them into the gloriously open skies.


	4. Of Nausea and Open Eyes

"How long has it been since your last flight, again?" Sokka asked Toph as he rubbed her back. Her head was hanging over Appa's flank, but she turned it long enough to give him an ugly glare before she hurriedly returned it and retched again.

"Shut—" she burped unpleasantly, "—up, meathead."

"I can see the swamp from here. We're almost there, don't worry." Sokka told his airsick friend soothingly.

"How—" she belched again, "—lucky for you, to be able to see."

"Sorry."

"Don't bother." Toph dry-heaved for several seconds before coming back up. "I think I'm done now."

"Okay." Sokka laid back, and for a few minutes there was silence.

"Hey, Sokka?" Toph traced a pattern in the leather with her finger, "How…how's Suki?"

There it was—his eyes were stinging, his heart was thumping, swelling painfully, and suddenly he was a quivering wreck again.

"Sokka?" Toph sounded alarmed, "Sokka, what is it?"

Oh. Right. Blind. Sokka tried to work past the lump in his throat. "She died."

He heard her gasp. Then he felt her searching hands patting the leather by him. Sokka gently took her hands in his shaking ones.

"Oh, Sokka…I'm so, so sorry." Toph was less green than she had been, but still very pale. Something struck the young warrior just then. Toph had been jealous of Suki, but…did she still like her? Suki had saved her life, after all. Maybe it was just because Toph was his best friend, and she was pretending to feel sad. No, he decided. Toph wouldn't pretend to be sad if she wasn't.

"It's okay, Toph." He took several deep breaths and steadied himself. "I'm over it now." He was grateful she couldn't tell he was lying.

A soft _flump_ as Appa broke through the leaves brought a loud whoop from Toph.

"Finally!" she crowed. "Land!" Once Appa landed she scrambled out and laid, face-first, in the mud.

"Come on, Toph." Sokka pulled her up. "We've got to find Katara."

"Okay." The earthbender grumbled, bending the mud down to her feet and walking ahead. Sokka followed. "Be careful. She's…not all there."

After hours of searching, calling, and watching each other's backs, Sokka threw himself down out of sheer exhaustion.

"We've been at this forever, Toph." He whined. "Let's rest for a bit."

"If you want." Toph shrugged and sat down. A few minutes later Sokka was out like a light, snoring uproariously.

Toph leaned against the tree they were stopped at and listened. Spirits, how she'd missed him. The first few days after she ran away from him were torture; she kept wanting to turn back, to explain herself, but fear and heartache kept her going. So, she returned home to find her father dead, her mother as clingy as ever, and herself as the sole head of the Bei Fong estates. She realized a few weeks later that she really wasn't sad her father was dead. She missed him, of course, he was her father, but she hadn't been as close to him as most fathers and daughters were. She wasn't stifled with pampering and was taken more seriously. Her mother spent most of her time grieving in her rooms, so Toph was left to manage the entire estate on her own. She faced it like an earthbender—she wasn't one much for diplomacy, and demanded honesty in all her dealings. It hadn't made her very popular with the hoighty-toighty, ruff-necked imperials, but they respected her, at least.

Toph grew restless. She craved adventure and danger. Eventually she dragged her mother out of her depression and, once she was sure her affairs were in order, left to spend the next year and a half tracking down allies (Zuko and Mai included, who, in the course of their fugitivity, had gotten married) and building an army of Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Water Tribe soldiers, including the leaf-heads from the swamp they were now in.

She had certainly kept busy, with both running a rebel group and occasionally helping her mother out with Bei Fong matters, but there was still an empty spot in her heart—three of them, to be exact. In a quick recruiting run (to help clear her head more than anything) she had passed through the swamp and met Katara.

Toph blinked and frowned, running her hands over the ground worriedly. Something was there, she knew it.

"Snoozles." She whispered. "Sokka. Wake up."

"Eh?" he grunted sleepily.

"We've got company."

Sokka nodded and grabbed his sword. "Hello?" he called. "Katara?"

Suddenly vines shot out of the trees, wrapping themselves around Toph like flying boa constrictors.

"Whoa! Hey! Katara, calm down! It's—" Sokka shouted, before an eerie voice cut him off.

"Azula, my lovely, how kind of you to drop by." It was worse than Katara at her scariest two years ago. "I was hoping you would. I've got some friends that are _dying_ to meet you."

The vines began squeezing Toph harder. She was determined not to cry out, but the slightest of whimpers may have slipped. Deftly Sokka sliced through the vines and looked around anxiously.

"Katara, it's me, it's Sokka, your brother!" he yelled. "Azula's not here. Toph's here."

"Can't fool me, Azula…" Katara laughed wildly.

"Hey! Katara!" Toph spat. "Why not come down for a decent fight?"

"If you say so, Azula." Katara slipped down from the tree. Sokka gasped.

She was like a wild jungle cat, deadly, graceful, beautiful. Of course, Katara had always been like that, but never in such a feral way.

"I'm really, really sorry about this, Sugar Queen." Toph said quietly, raising her hands ever so slightly.

"What're you—?" Sokka began, before he noticed how the pebbles she was controlling were positioned. She was going to take a leaf out of Ty Lee's book and hit her major pressure points. Genius. To provide a distraction, Sokka hefted his boomerang and ran, full-force, at his sister. Katara turned to face him just as Toph struck, right on target. Katara shook her head, as if agitated, and tried to pick up the vines. They wouldn't move.

"Now I'm sorry." Sokka took a deep breath and whacked his sister on top of the head. Her eyes unfocused, rolled back, and she dropped like a rock.

"Very good, Snoozles." Toph picked her way over to Katara. "You somehow managed to be harsher than I am."

"I apologized beforehand!" Sokka protested as he lifted his sister in his arms. She was dressed in a kind of cloth that looked like it was woven from leaves and bark. They weren't unlike the undergarments she used to wear. He grinned. If Aang saw her now….

"Come on." Toph stretched. "Let's head back before she wakes up."

"It's dark." Sokka pointed out.

"Wow, really? I didn't notice." Toph said sarcastically.

"Sorry."

*********

"I wonder if she's awake?" Sokka asked idly as he sharpened his machete. Several crashes and yells were echoing through the caves. Toph yawned and stretched and sat up from her position on the floor.

"Probably."

"Let's go." Toph nodded and followed him out the door.

Katara emerged from a side tunnel, growling at the walls. Her hands were still tightly bound by the rock shackles Toph had put on her when she woke up and tried to strangle her, but her feet were free.

"Morning, Katara." Sokka grinned at her. She glared murderously. "Long time, no see."

"I have an idea." Toph whispered. "Keep her busy. I'll be back." She slipped off.

"You kept Mom's necklace, I see." Sokka sighed silently with relief. "That's good. Dad really misses you. Hakoda—our father."

A flash of recognition sparked in Katara's eyes. Good. They were getting somewhere.

"Yeah, and Gran-Gran too. The South and North Tribes have merged a bit—we're all at the North right now. Appa and Momo want to see you, too—once you're decently dressed, anyways." Sokka cast a critical eye on his sister's apparel. "You're _not_ going out in public like that."

A glimmer of a smile tugged at Katara's lips.

"Toph's not happy with you at the moment." Sokka went on. "She's—"

"Back." Toph rose out of the floor with a bearded old man. "Katara, meet my friend Dong."

Dong bowed respectfully. "Sifu Katara, welcome."

Katara eyed him warily.

"That's a nasty bump on your head." Dong went on. Sokka scratched the back of his head guiltily. "Let me heal that."

Katara watched his every move as Dong summoned up water from his pouch and stepped behind her, moving slowly, as with a wounded animal. With lightning speed he clapped his palms to her temples. Katara cried out, but the memories overwhelmed her.

_She was up in a tree watching Toph call for her frantically. She felt bad, tricking a blind girl, but she didn't want Toph or Sokka following her for a while…._

_She was walking through the swamp, angry, muddy, scared, wondering why she went so far. She saw a pale figure jumping through the trees, and couldn't hold back the tears as she watched Aang as he had been fly away…._

_She was disgusted with herself. She vowed she'd never use bloodbending ever again, and as the edible things of the forest marched towards her, she cursed herself with every name that she knew…._

Was this what Aang felt like before the invasion? _She wondered as she huddled under a root. Not knowing what was real, what wasn't, which hallucinations to trust…._

_Azula mocked her, taunted her, turned into Aang, who asked bitterly why she hadn't saved him yet, turned into her mother, who shook her head disappointedly…._

Who was Katara? _she asked herself. Who was she, this swamp-child, this wayward waterbender? She was nameless, Sugar Queen no longer, but a primal force. She was the Painted Lady again, paintless, powerful. She was Water. _

"Katara?" A familiar voice called. "Katara, come back."

She shrank. She didn't want to go back. There was pain back there….

"Come on, Sugar Queen, we can't do this alone." Another voice. Azula! No…not Azula….

"If you don't come back, I'll rescue Aang myself and let _him _talk some sense into you."

Aang…the Avatar…her friend…her secret lover, her anchor…he was…alive?

"Not without me, you're not." Katara said, and suddenly she was knocked off-balance as two bodies slammed into hers, yelling her name over and over.

"How long was I gone?" Katara asked bewilderedly, noting how Sokka towered over her and Toph was almost her height.

"Well…" Toph stepped back, and Katara blinked in surprise. She definitely wasn't a little girl anymore. "About two years. Give or take a month or two."

"Two…two _years_?" her jaw dropped. She hadn't realized…"Tell me everything that's happened. How's Dad? And Gran-Gran? Did the invasion force get out okay? Did—"

"Slow down, Katara." Sokka grinned. "We'll tell you everything as soon as you're wearing something respectable." Katara looked down and blushed. She was wondering why her movements seemed so free.

"Come on. My rooms. Now." Toph led the way back down the hall and through the huge wooden door.

"Wow. Where'd all this come from?" Katara looked around in awe.

"In a minute. We need to start at the beginning." Sokka resumed his machete sharpening as Toph sorted through her closet and threw some clothes at the waterbender.

Toph and Sokka both told what had happened to each of them in the past two years, tactfully avoiding what made them split up in the first place. Katara gasped when she heard about Suki.

"Oh, Sokka, I'm so—"

"Sorry?" he looked at her sadly. "I know. It's okay. I'm okay." Toph knew for sure he was lying this time around. But, she went on to describe the rebellion's plans, including Zuko and Mai's approaching bundle of joy. Katara shrieked with pleasure.

"So, basically, that's it. We have you, so now we just have to get Aang and we'll be back in business." Toph stretched, accidentally kicking Sokka in the leg.

"Okay, then." Katara noticed how closely the two of them happened to be sitting, and a slight suspicion stirred in her mind.

"So…remind me why you two went your separate ways again?" She asked innocently.

"Earthquake." Sokka said, the same time Toph said, "Storm." They looked at each other.

"There was a…uh…stormy…earthquake…." Sokka smiled weakly.

"Sure." Katara rose fluidly from the floor. "I'm going to go find Appa."

"A stormy earthquake?" Toph raised an eyebrow after Katara left.

"Well, I'm sorry! We haven't had time to think of a story!" Sokka grumped.

"What if we tell the truth?" Toph asked. There was a pause before they burst out laughing.

"No, seriously." Sokka wiped his eyes, "What are we going to do?"

"Well, we just say you said something that hurt my feelings, and I got ticked off and left." Toph sat up and cracked her back. "She'll buy it."

"What did I say?" Sokka asked sharply.

"I don't know, use your imagination." Toph laid back down.

"No, really, Toph, what did I say?" he put down his machete and sat cross-legged next to her.

"I…uh…well, I don't know, you were mumbling." Toph rolled over, her back facing him.

"You left because I _mumbled_? That's ridiculous." Sokka snorted.

"You remember what I said, right?" Toph fiddled with the end of her braid.

"Uh…yeah…word-for-word." Sokka turned around, hoping she wouldn't sense his embarrassment.

"That's why." She curled up into herself.

"Oh." Sokka looked down. "Is, uh…do you still, um…mean it?"

Toph turned back over. "Why?"

"Just curious." Sokka looked over his shoulder at her.

"That I think I'll keep to myself." Toph stood up. "Well, come on, plan guy. Aang's not going to take down Azula himself."

"Oh…right." Sokka began wracking his brains on how to get to the rendezvous point Toph had picked out fastest, which was made harder by his trying to figure out women at the same time.


	5. Of Pain and Hope

"Come on, Avatar, you need to give me more to work with." Azula smiled sweetly, examining her prisoner. He returned with a hard gaze, blazing with cold fury.

The Avatar had grown like a weed despite his incarceration; he was several inches taller, lithe from Azula's exercises. His hair had grown down to his shoulders in a dark, matted wave. He was a remarkably fast recoverer; Azula was careful not to leave too many scars, only for his insubordination or if she was just bored and wanted to watch him bleed for a while. She was bored with him more often now—he'd learned how not to scream. His face was lean and hard, and a light, patchy stubble coated his cheeks, upper lip, and chin. His eyes had changed the most—like thunderheads carved from grey marble, they were stripped of all innocence, stony and full of hate.

"Let's see…you could do with a shave, that's certain…and a haircut. I can't see that arrow of yours anymore. The rest of them, however…"Azula traced a scar she'd given him on his chest, just above his heart—an ornate K, awarded to him a year before, when in the height of his torment he'd screamed for Katara and, right there in his cell, confessed his love all over again. "The rest are perfectly visible."

Aang just stared. How easy would it be to metalbend these chains, to use his power to mangle her hatefully pretty face, to wrap his fingers around her throat and watch the life-light dim in her eyes….

But no. He mustn't think like that. Iroh said that was what led to madness. Madness that, if the Rebel reports were correct, Katara had succumbed to. He'd howled for days after Ty Lee delivered _that_ little tidbit. He had gained a lot of respect for Ty Lee over the past…how long had it been, really? Ages, it seemed like, ages that Ty Lee had helped both him and Iroh through. She wouldn't oppose Azula outright—that would be stupid, especially when her talents were most needed here—but it was clear that she considered her friendship with Azula over. Azula only kept her around for entertainment. That was why she was still alive.

"What game should we play today, Avatar?" Azula tapped her chin. "Whiplash, hangman, tender spot…so many choices."

"How about let the Avatar's hands free for a bit?" Aang's voice was low and raspy from lack of use. Azula's clear laugh echoed around the room.

"After all these years, still a sense of humor. Bravo, Avatar." She picked up a slender silver knife. "But I have something else in mind."

He tensed as she began tracing patterns on his skin with the tip of the knife, then forced himself to relax. If she knew she was bothering him she'd start cutting. That was what made the "game" so dangerous—the more fear or annoyance or any emotion that a person showed, the more skin he was likely to lose. The tensions and the dread—that was how Azula preferred her torture.

"Poor, lonely Avatar." Azula purred. "It seems like your friends have abandoned you, doesn't it? That goofy warrior, what's-his-face…Sokka? Yes…I bet he's found his dear darling by now. Or what's left of her. And that little blind earthbender…the monkey-looking one. And the waterbender. We mustn't forget her, now. Katara's probably forgotten all about you and your…'love'. But that's alright, Avatar. You still have me. Don't you?"

He knew better than to rise to the bait, but it was hard to resist. She was circling around to the back.

"All the world knows of your failure, Avatar. They hate you. You were supposed to protect them, and you failed them."

"You really need a new hobby, you know." Aang rolled his eyes, glad she couldn't see it. As long as he remembered what Zuko had once told him, "Azula always lies," he'd be fine. Although Suki…In an accidental trip to the Spirit World he had seen her there, and knew she was gone. Poor Sokka.

"Maybe." Azula was coming back around. "But watching you suffer is so much more entertaining."

"How's finding a husband coming?" Aang decided to risk a jibe. "You're not going to live forever, after all."

"Silly Avatar, of course I'm going to find a husband." Azula smiled, and Aang felt a pang of nervousness. She'd never smiled like that before. "Or maybe just find a male strong enough to help me produce an heir. Why be conformist?"

"You'd have to find a man crazy enough to talk to you first." Aang snorted.

"You're talking to me." Azula pointed out.

"Only because I have to. If circumstances were different, I'd be dancing on your grave." He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Touché, Avatar." She grinned, suddenly slashing at his arm. He kept a violent oath behind his teeth as blood began seeping from the wound. Azula just laughed.

"For your insolence." She wiped the knife clean on his other arm and left the cell. Gritting his teeth, Aang whistled a little to signal for Ty Lee.

The contortionist was not the happy-go-lucky girl she'd once been; her once-laughing grey eyes were dull and devoid of their sparkle, her perky demeanor diminished. When she looked in the mirror her aura was the murky grey and violent orange of desolation and fear, tinged with a hopeful green on the edges.

"She was lenient today." Her voice was subdued and deeper than when she had been a child. "Aang."

"Ty Lee." Aang was relieved that she, at least, called him by his name. "News?"

"The Queen has been recovered." She smiled slightly. Aang's spirit soared. She was still alive!

"She wasn't in the best of shapes when our Bandit first went to reel her in." Ty Lee continued. "But you knew that. She actually tried to kill her the first time, thinking she was our dear Fire Lord."

Crashing, open-mouthed shock followed in joy's wake. He'd only heard that Katara was crazy, not attacking her friends.

"Chief and Bandit went together to find her. According to Stone's report, she's fine now." She went about cleaning the cut, working gently.

"That's good." He breathed a sigh of relief. If she had been that far gone for good….

"The Eagle will fly." Ty Lee said quietly. It was the Rebellion's mantra, coded to mean Aang's freedom.

"The Storm is coming." Aang's steely grey eyes found Ty Lee's. "Tell them that."

Her eyes widened, and after slipping him some food she ran across the hall to Iroh's cell. It was an advantage to be jailed so close to such an important prisoner; the world generally forgot about the failed escapee in their watching of the Avatar. Iroh had maintained his muscular physique, however much he still drank tea, and it came in handy when reaching for skittish Rebel messenger hawks. He was composing a haiku about the tea he was drinking (worse than Zuko's first attempts) when Ty Lee burst through the door.

"The Storm is coming," She gasped, "and the Eagle will fly."

Iroh didn't waste any time gaping; he cleared his makeshift desk with a sweep of his arm and began a fresh letter, using bold strokes to convey the importance of the message.

"Only for the best hawk in the Fire Nation, child." He told her, signing it the Dragon and Lady Butterfly.

A Storm was coming. The Eagle would fly.

A Revolution was starting.


	6. Familiar Pains

"Come on, Toph, it hasn't been _that_ long since you've ridden Appa!" Sokka complained over the earthbender's heaving.

"Try to be a little more considerate, Sokka." Katara snapped.

"What—" Toph belched uncomfortably, "—Sugar Queen said."

They had received a messenger hawk from the Fire Nation about a week ago, and Toph had been yelling herself hoarse to mobilize the troops. Sokka was still thinking of a way to figure out how to talk to Toph about what she had told him. So far he had nothing.

"Can we go—" Toph hiccupped badly, "—over the plan again, Snoozles?"

"Okay, it's very simple." Sokka began patiently. "We're going to do like last time—hide out in the Fire Nation, right under Azula's nose, but we're going to move faster and dig deeper. The prison isn't far from the palace, still in the royal city, but this time, no mistakes. We're larger, we're fiercer, and when the time comes we'll have a ticked-off Avatar on our side. Aang can bust himself free with Ty Lee and Iroh, but for now he's going to stay put until we signal him. One last thing."

"What?" Katara asked interestedly.

Sokka grinned. "Pray like crazy until we've won."

Toph laughed appreciatively before sticking her head back over the edge. His own stomach turning, Sokka tried to ignore her and drew back into his thoughts. Toph had matured quite a lot over the past two years; she'd gone from the loud-mouthed, punky Blind Bandit to the spirited, still loud-mouthed Queen of Thieves. And Katara, from Sugar Queen to a wild, untamed…beast, he supposed, though she was over it now. A girl to an Amazon.

How had he, Sokka, changed? How had Aang changed? Were either of them the same anymore? He still thought of himself as the "meat, sarcasm, and plans" guy, but was he really that any longer? He was seventeen years old. That still shocked him. Last he checked he was still the goofy fifteen-year-old that found a weird kid in an iceberg. How much of that boy was still left in the man?

"Snoozles!" Toph yelled in his ear.

"What?" Sokka fell back in fright, banging his head against the rim of the saddle.

"Would you rub my back again, please?" she asked in a smaller voice.

"Uh…yeah, sure." Sokka blinked in surprise. She normally didn't like being touched. She must really be feeling horrible. Toph tucked her head into her hands and sighed softly as he drew his knuckles across her back.

"Do you really think it'll work this time?" she sounded like a child again.

"If it doesn't, we can say we tried." Sokka smiled a little.

"If we fail, we won't be able to say anything, we'll be dead." Toph snorted.

"So?" he shrugged. "We have spirits, don't we?"

"I…guess." She said thoughtfully. "I never thought of it before. I guess I always thought that when we're dead, we're dead, that's it. Poof. No more Dad."

"I'm sorry." Sokka knew how it felt to lose a parent, even if she hadn't been that close to her father.

"A little lower," she directed, "And a little harder."

He shifted his hands until he had it right. They talked about nothing for a while, careful to appear nonchalant under Katara's watchful gaze, until she took them down for the night. There was something soothing about being silly in the company of friends, and that night it was like old times.

Minus Aang. Minus one absent but never forgotten airbender who would have been right in the middle of it all. Soberness descended around the fire.

"But, hey, no need to be down." Sokka reassured the girls. "The Eagle's flying. The Storm's coming. Whoopee."

"The Eagle's not flying yet." Toph corrected him, stretching out against Appa's soft belly fur. "Just sharpening his claws."

Sokka was seized by a sudden desire to ask her if she wanted some extra warmth, but refrained under his sister's curious stare. "Whatever. Goodnight."

A sleepy goodnight duet answered him, and the three teenagers got the best night's sleep they'd had in two years.

******

"You've got about two seconds before you become the world's first amazing flying meathead." Was the first thing he heard in the morning. Groaning and stretching, Sokka sat up, blearily blinking at Toph.

"Morning, Sokka." Katara said brightly as he trudged over to the fire, muttering darkly about short, pushy, loud girls. "You're finally up."

"Define 'finally'." Sokka pulled a plate of steaming fried meat towards him.

"We let you sleep in for a few hours. We've been up since daybreak." Katara stirred the soup carefully, her arms gracefully working with breakfast.

"Why so early?" he asked.

"Because Katara really wants to get to Aang." Toph slid up next to him. "The only thing she's kissed in two years was probably a rock she thought was Twinkletoes back in the swamp."

Sokka buried his face in the bowl that Katara handed him so she wouldn't see how hard he was laughing. If he had seen her bright red face, he would have laughed harder.

"At least I've kissed _someone_, Toph." Katara drew herself up. "Even _Sokka_ has kissed someone—two people—before. You're the only one that hasn't."

"So?" Sokka could tell she was struggling to remain caustic. "Why would I need to suck someone's face off? I'm perfectly happy without the experience, thank you."

"You could always practice on Sokka." Katara giggled. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Both Toph and Sokka flushed.

"What makes you say that?" he asked carefully.

"You were talking in your sleep." Katara stood up. "You must have been having an interesting dream."

Oh, dear. He never remembered his dreams. Only the nightmares.

"What was I saying?" he demanded.

"I don't remember the specifics," She stretched, "but, by and large, you were asking Toph if she was cold and wanted some company. Like last time."

Oh, Agni. If she had heard that….

"I'll leave you two lovebirds to talk." Katara winked.

"We're not lovebirds." Toph grumped.

"Whatever you say." The older girl smiled and walked away. Awkward silence fell.

"This is going to sound incredibly wrong," Toph shuffled her feet, "but I don't need a bedmate."

"Would you like one, though?" Sokka asked before he could stop himself. Toph blushed so hard it looked like she had a sunburn.

"I'm just saying that it would be, uh…beneficial to our group…you know…if we're all up at the same time, and uh…yeah." He stumbled, feeling his ears burn with every word.

"For the good of the group." Toph mused. "Sure, whatever." She still turned cherry-red, whatever her tone.

"Yeah." Sokka gulped down the rest of breakfast. They sat there until Katara came back, after which they hurriedly got up to load Appa. They made it off the ground in record time.

Toph toyed with the space earth Sokka had given her two years ago. It retained its morphing abilities no matter how many times she bended it. Or tried to smash it, like the first week after she left. It was like her own secret weapon, indestructible, stretchy, easy to work with. And it only worked for her. She noticed when she asked Haru to try to bend it for her, just to see what would happen. He'd strained so hard his moustache frizzed.

She smiled at the memory. Haru was a good man. A good friend. She'd once considered him for her "replacement Sokka", but after a week dismissed it. No one could replace Sokka.

"Watcha thinking about?" Sokka asked.

"Nothing." She lied. "You?"

"Nothing." He lied back. It was maddening. Every thought somehow had her mark on it. She was unlike any girl he'd ever met, or even wanted to know. Almost three years ago he'd thought of girls as dainty, delicate, and weak, essentially unsuited for anything but cooking and cleaning and caring for children. He'd met Yue. She was dainty and delicate, but far from weak. She sacrificed herself to save her people—the whole world, he realized. He'd met Suki. She wasn't as _girly_ as he expected girls to be. She was pretty and strong and could kick his sorry butt from Kyoshi Island to Ba Sing Se and back. Even Azula defied his definition of "girl", although she was pure evil, so she didn't count.

Then he'd met Toph. Infuriating, annoying, inspiring, beautiful Toph, who had taken his flimsy standards on girls and crunched it in a little ball and sent it flying to the moon. After wiping her nose on it. Toph Bei Fong, whom he found it increasingly harder to keep his thoughts away from. It wasn't until after they'd been flying for about half a day before he realized that it didn't hurt to think of Suki.

Silence reigned from noon to dusk, and soon it was time for bed. His heart beating so hard he was sure he was about to have an attack, Sokka laid down and snuggled into Appa. Toph joined him a moment later, raising a challenging eyebrow at a smirking Katara.

"If doing this is what made you leave in the first place, are you sure this is a good idea?" Sokka asked as she adjusted to the curve of his body.

"Your idea, Snoozles." She yawned. "Good night."

Sokka smiled slightly and wrapped an arm around her waist. "'Night."

Katara worked herself deep in her sleeping bag, chuckling quietly. Their chemistry was so obvious. Was that how she and Aang used to be? A wave of heartache and regret swept over her, stinging at her eyes.

Aang. She hadn't really had time to miss him when she was out of her mind, but the nights and increasingly silent days left her time to meditate. What horrors had Azula unleashed on him? Would he recognize her, and she him?

Did he still love her?

The possibility that he might not gnawed at her. It wasn't fair, she mused angrily, that just as she realized her feelings he was ripped away from her. She forced herself to relax.

She was going to have fun when the time came for Azula to face her.


	7. A Dangerous Game Begins

He'd never had a problem with needles until he learned how annoyingly painful they could be. Extreme acupuncture was one of Azula's favorite games, mostly because it was Aang's least favorite. The needles she preferred were six inches long, skinny, and double-pointed, able to slip past vital organs to rest in his meatier, less dangerous areas. She knew how to slide a few all the way through his neck without killing him.

Today she had several threading through his arms and legs and was busy poking one through his shoulder when a soldier burst through the door.

"Fire Lord Azula, you're needed in the war room," He gasped for air and tried not to look at Aang. "There's been a series of riots through the Earth Kingdom—you need to hear it."

"Alright." Azula turned to her prisoner. "Stay here, Avatar, and don't touch the needles. I'll be back." The soldier moved out of the way as she swept out of the cell, smiling ironically.

"As if I could." Aang grumbled.

"How've you been, Avatar?" the soldier asked.

"Okay. You, Jin?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Better than you seem to be." Jin winced. "Can I—"

"Leave them. She'll start lacing my skin next." Aang tried to breathe slowly. "It's interesting, spending every other day with a woman who both wants to kill you and have your child."

Jin made an odd, strangled sound, the kind of sound that, had he been drinking something, would have signified that the liquid had gone up and out of his nose and through his teeth.

"She's admitted as much." he muttered darkly. "So…riots."

"The mountain stirs." Jin lowered his voice. "Beef party says to hold until Chief gives the get-go. The Queen sends her love."

Aang was suddenly on cloud nine. "Eagle returns love and sends regards to Chief and Bandit."

"Lady Butterfly requests an audience," Jin went on, "and Molerat has relayed all information."

"Good." Aang smiled. The pain had dulled; nothing dampered his spirits just yet. "Send in Lady Butterfly."

"Copy." Jin winked and left.

******

Azula yawned. "So all we know is that a few earthbenders have been causing trouble in Ba Sing Se and New Ozai. Have they been apprehended?"

"Um…no, Madam Fire Lord, ma'am." The old general who presented the report fiddled nervously with his helmet. Azula studied him. He had served under Ozai, and possibly Azulon. She couldn't recall him being a fidgeter.

"General Zung," she purred, "How long have you been sitting at this war table?"

"Thirty-five years, your Majesty." He straightened proudly.

"And in those thirty-five years, have you ever reported a failed attempt to put down a riot?" she examined her fingernails.

"Twice, your Majesty." Shame colored his voice.

"When was the first?" her golden eyes snapped on him.

"When a village of earthbenders escaped from our mining fields, just two years ago, your Majesty."

"I'm sensing a pattern." Azula noted how the man's skin paled. "Not of your incompetence, General, but of the riots. This first failure, there was a waterbender involved, correct?"

"We never confirmed it, but yes, that was the original report, ma'am." Zung nodded.

"Were there any other elements involved besides earth and fire in the latest one?" she took her feet off the table, finally interested.

"No, but there was fire coming from the earthbenders' side."

"I thought so." Azula stood up. "Gentlemen, I believe we have a rebellion on our hands. A traitor army, if you will."

A ringing silence fell over the table.

"What we need is an inside man—someone who can infiltrate their ranks and relay information. I have no doubt the Avatar's friends are behind this, but there's no telling how deep-rooted or well-organized they are. I want every one of you to produce two candidates for the job. I will select the best five. Dismissed."

As the room emptied, Azula took out another needle. "Your move, Avatar." She tested the ends, a slow smile spreading across her face. She didn't notice the shadows in the corner shift as Ty Lee slipped, cat-like, off to Aang's cell to warn him.

****

"The Cat's following the trail," Sokka read, and Toph's face darkened. "What does that mean?"

"It means Azula's catching on." She growled. "We need to come up with a new code."

"As in all new?" Sokka's jaw dropped at the prospect of figuring out another code. "She can't have figured it out already."

"We're still using the old one, we just need an over-code so she won't be able to really understand what's going on if she intercepts a message." Toph began toying with her space rock again. "Katara, I need you to write me something."

Half an hour later it read:

_"Cat is tracking. Look at the ants closely, feed them breadcrumbs. Keep the creamy center from them. The Eagle will fly. The Beef Party." _

"I'm confused." Sokka complained.

"So what else is new?" Toph rolled her eyes. "Basically, look at the new recruits, keep an eye on them, and tell them the over-code. We can't trust anyone now, from anywhere." She drew her knees to her chest.

"That's really sad." Katara tied the note to Hawky and let him fly. "I hope this war ends soon."

"One way or another, it will." Sokka said solemnly.

That night, curled between Appa and Toph, he dreamed of all possible outcomes, tossing and turning and keeping her awake until she got sick of it and moved. It did no good; she could still feel him, muttering into the earth. Sighing, she flicked a pebble at his head, waking him instantly.

"Stop thinking about it, Snoozles." She hissed irritably. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Unfortunately, so am I." He sat up, rubbing his eyes wearily. "I just keep thinking about what could happen, and…I can't lose anyone else, Toph." A soft patter on the earth made her eyes widen. Surely he couldn't be crying…? "It was hard enough…losing Mom…Yue…Suki…Aang…Katara…you." Her heart skipped a beat on the last one. "If I actually lost you…that would be worse than all my nightmares combined."

Toph grinned a bit and snuggled back into her friend. "Don't worry," she yawned, "I'm not going anywhere."


	8. Revelations and Actions

Katara cornered Toph as she was making her way to bathe.

"So, when are you going to tell him?" she asked playfully. Toph, still sullen about having to wake up, shot her a warning look.

"Don't be shy about it now, Toph." Katara fell into step beside her. "I've seen the way you act around him. You're obviously crazy for him."

"Unless you're going to wash my back, Sugar Queen, I suggest you back off." Toph started undressing by the banks of a pond.

"If you'll talk to me while I do, I'll wash your hair for you, too." Katara began preparing for her own bath. Toph paused.

"Fine," she grunted. Once the two of them were in the water she began.

"Well…I guess you already knew this, but…" she took a deep breath. "I really, _really_…think I might, kinda-sorta, maybe—"

"Oh, shut up, Toph, you know if you really do or not." Katara snorted.

"Fine. I'm madly in love with your dopey, stubborn, rock-headed brother." Toph grumped. "Happy?"

"Monumentally." Katara grinned as she worked soap into Toph's long black hair. "When are you going to tell him?"

"Do I have to?"

"Well, that depends. Do you want to take the chance that he might feel the same, or do you want to do it my way—holding back until it's too late?" the waterbender rinsed out her friend's hair, holding back bitter tears.

"How do I know if he feels the same?" Toph asked while Katara scrubbed her back vigorously.

"You either ask or go for it and hope he doesn't object." Katara worked on her own hair. The earthbender was silent, contemplating all possible meanings of "it".

"What if…what if he doesn't feel the same, and I get mad and leave and—" she started babbling.

"Then you let me deal with him. I can't change the way he feels, but I can make him seriously reevaluate himself." Katara, squeaky clean, climbed out. Toph followed. The older girl waterbended them dry, and the girls dressed.

"Katara?"

"Hmm?"

"…thanks."

"No problem, Toph."

*****

"Geez, you took long enough." Sokka complained as the girls walked back into camp.

"Not all of us can take three-second baths, you know!" Katara snapped. "We're _girls_. We have something called _hair_."

"Well…come one. We're behind schedule." Sokka scowled until they were up in the air. Momo perching on his head helped his mood.

While he played with the little lemur, Toph listened and worried. Were they really going to make it this time? What if Azula deciphered their code? What if she, Toph, died before she had a chance to tell Sokka how she felt?

That decided it for her. She was going to tell him that night.

How was another headache completely.

She wracked her brains all day, until a thought struck her. She had no idea what Sokka looked like. Of course, she didn't know what anyone looked like, but that was no excuse. She didn't know if he had a big nose or a tiny mouth or plug-shaped ears

She deduced that she'd need to see—and by that she meant feel—for herself, while he was moongazing. It was about the right time, anyway; she had been observing the water levels in the plants and animals for a few nights now, and they were at about the right height, so a full moon couldn't be far away. He always moongazed at the full moon. She heard the story why two years ago, when she and Sokka were running around together. Poor Sokka.

*******

Just as she thought, he left camp after dinner. Toph let him have a little space before Katara gestured for her to go. She didn't see it, of course, so Katara had to tell her to follow him.

"At it again, Snoozles?" Toph sat down next to him. Sokka jumped—he hadn't noticed her come up.

"Yeah." He looked at her sadly. "No offense, Toph, but I just want to be—"

"Alone?" Toph struggled to keep hurt from her voice. "After two years of it, I thought you'd be tired of being alone."

"I am, it's just…" he tried to find the words and gave up. "Never mind. You can stay."

They sat in companionable silence while Toph worked up her considerable courage.

"Sokka?" she ventured, feeling timid.

"Yeah?" he asked absently.

"Can…can I touch your face?" she blurted. "It's just…I want to know what you look like."

Sokka's heart skipped a beat; Toph caught it. "Sure, I guess."

Toph scooted closer and tentatively put her hands out towards his head. She touched his hair first. It was smooth and soft and, conceivably, in a ponytail. She traced the outline of his face. He had a narrow face and a strong jaw, with a hint of stubble on his chin. Back up to his forehead, which was lined with deep worry and frown lines. He had thick eyebrows with another little line in between them from restless nights. His eyelids fluttered under her slim fingers, tickling them with his lashes. He had high cheekbones and hollow cheeks. Interesting. And a finely shaped, straight nose.

Now for the part of him she wanted to touch most. Taking another deep breath, she felt his lips. Not too thin, not too full, but just the right size. Before either of them knew what she was doing Toph stretched up her face and touched his lips with her own. After initial shock, Sokka put a hand up to cup her cheek and deepened the kiss.

Bells and whistles were going off in Toph's head, but she couldn't seem to pull back; instead, her arm snaked up and around his neck, pulling them closer together.

Sokka's mind was a blank. All he could seem to think was that he was kissing _Toph_. He'd had a dream about it once, a few nights before, but he dismissed as the after-effects of dinner. He never once thought that it could be this soft, this gentle, this _real_.

Suddenly he was coming on stronger, and she was meeting him touch for touch, pull for pull. As quickly as it began Toph pulled back. She was slightly out of breath, her head spinning.

"Well, um…what I really came up here for was, uh, to tell you something kind of…uh…important, but…" Toph was blushing fiercely, which made Sokka's ears burn.

"Uh…yeah, about that, um…are we going to pretend that didn't happen, or—"

"No," she said, much too quickly, "I mean, it did happen, didn't it?"

"I think so." They were silent for a moment. "So…was it good for you?"

"That depends," Toph grinned mischievously as Sokka began to sweat about his skills, "on your reaction to my next statement."

"Which is?" Sokka guessed what it was before she said it.

"I'm in love with you, you moronic meathead." Toph tossed her braid over her shoulder and waited. After a moment she said, "What, is it so hard to belie—mmph!"

Sokka was kissing her again, effectively cutting off her sarcastic question. Toph shrugged mentally and gave in.

"I love you, too, you short, loudmouthed little freak." He grinned broadly at her dumbstruck expression. "Come on. If we stay up much later, we'll be useless tomorrow."

Their arms around each other, the bender and the warrior strode back to camp, relieved that, finally, they'd found what they had been missing for two years.

*******

Katara noticed something strange immediately. For one thing, Toph was _humming_. Toph didn't _hum_. The next was that Sokka was completely _cheerful_. Sokka was never _cheerful_ in the mornings. And, of course, there were the thirty-odd unconscious Fire Nation soldiers lying around camp.

"What happened?" she gasped.

"Some bozos thought they'd try to sneak up on us this morning." Toph grinned hugely. "You slept right through the action. Sokka was great."

"Not as good as Toph was." Sokka sat down for breakfast. "She knocked most of them out in less than five minutes."

"Yeah, but you faced the only firebender they had with them and cracked his skull." Toph shoved eggs in her mouth as Sokka scarfed down bacon. Katara shook her head, smiling.

"I guess we'd better get out of here before they wake up, eh?" Sokka stood and popped his back.

"Yeah. We're only a few days away from the Fire Nation's capitol, I think." Toph kicked earth over their fire. "Sugar Queen, as soon as we're up in the air break out the pen and paper."

"Ay ay, Chief." Katara saluted mockingly and helped Sokka up on Appa's head. She copied Toph's letter out twice and tied them both to Hawky.

"To Haru first, okay?" Toph told him. Hawky blinked once and flew off.

*******

Haru was trimming his beard when Zuko banged on his door and came in.

"From Toph." He shoved a letter under his nose. Haru took it and read it quickly. Smiling, he looked at the man who had become his friend.

"We're moving out." A dangerous glint appeared in Haru's eyes. Zuko grinned wolfishly. "Make sure our dear Cat's whiskers know."

********

"Beef Party says to be ready for a party in a few days." Ty Lee whispered as she cleaned Aang's latest cut. "The Queen also wanted you to know that Chief and Bandit aced their chemistry test."

Aang's jaw dropped. Ty Lee giggled—she was regaining a bit of her bubbliness in the face of an oncoming battle. "I knew it. Their auras match perfectly, so it was only a matter of time."

The airbender's head was spinning. Sokka and Toph. Together. As in to-geth-er. He couldn't have seen it, but there they were. He was happy that they had found happiness in each other. He couldn't think of two people who deserved each other more.

"Wow." Was all he said.

********

"So," Azula paced, "Our little band of traitors is going to move on us, correct?"

"That was the report, milady." The messenger wisely kept his eyes down.

"Well then, we need to prepare a welcome." She looked over her shoulder at her advisors. "I want the entire Royal Navy out in the harbor, and the Royal Army out front to defend their capitol."

"Will you retreat to the inner palace, milady?" one of them asked.

"No." she shook her head. "I'm going to be waiting for them in my throne room. There should be five other people in this room besides me, and that's the Avatar, his friends, and Zuko. Understood?"

"Of course, Madame Fire Lord." Another advisor bowed, and the room emptied. Azula began going through her practices, smiling savagely. She couldn't wait for the bloodletting to begin. It was going to be so satisfying watching the Avatar's face as she picked off his friends, one by one.

Starting with the waterbender.

**Heh, sorry for the long absence folks. Hope the extra chapters make up for it!**


	9. Goodbye and Hello

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Zuko asked Mai for the umpteenth time. Mai rolled her eyes.

"How many times do you want me to say it?" She smiled wryly. "I'll be alright, Zuko."

The former prince put his arms around his Lady, drawing strength and reassurance from her touch.

"You are so…so incredibly beautiful, do you know that?" Zuko whispered into her hair. "I'm sorry I mixed you up into this."

"I chose it." Mai stroked his back. "It's better to be here with you than back with Azula."

"I promise you," he looked her in the eyes, "I will make the world better for us. For our daughter."

"Or son." Mai reminded gently.

"For all of our children." Zuko grinned and kissed Mai fiercely.

"Be careful." She handed him his twin swords and placed a hand on her swollen belly. Zuko's hand covered hers and held it.

"I will." He kissed her again and left. Mai sat down on their bed (it was tiresome to stand for too long nowadays) and quietly cried. She hoped this would all be worth their efforts.

********

Moving an entire army was no easy feat. Luckily, Haru, Toph, and Zuko had worked a plan out months ago. Headquarters was close to the edge of the Earth Kingdom. Toph had made it there with the invasion in mind. They were in farmlands, close to the sea they'd need to traverse in order to penetrate the Fire Nation. They'd held on to two Fire Navy ships they'd stolen two years ago, and had since added about six more, not including the Water Tribe fleet that was due in a couple of days, after they'd reached the ocean.

"General Hakoda sent word that he'd meet us at the bay." Haru informed Zuko at the surface. "We just need to move fast enough to get there."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Zuko clapped him on the shoulder. Haru nodded and signaled the other earthbenders. They were going to take turns pulling the entire army towards the bay; it was faster than marching, as four earthbenders could transport up to two hundred people about twenty miles before another needed to take his place. Altogether, Haru estimated that there were four thousand soldiers in the rebellion—a small number compared to the Fire Nation hundreds of thousands. That meant about eighty earthbenders at a time were needed to pull the army forwards, including Haru himself. The groups were organized, as were the rotation schedules. Haru only needed to give the signal and they'd start moving.

"Let's haul some earth!" he shouted, and began propelling them forwards. In no time they were moving smoothly, cheering and yelling.

The invasion had begun!

*******

"We should be at the place in about a day, Chief." A soldier reported to Hakoda. "Our waterbenders have added some speed, and a note came saying that the mountain is on the move."

"Good." Hakoda grinned. They'd been sailing hard for a day and a half; he'd never seen the sea go by so fast. In another few days he'd be reunited with his children. It had been four years since he'd really spent some time with Katara; after the war, it would be interesting to see what kind of woman she'd become.

********

"The same rendezvous point, eh?" Sokka looked around appreciatively at the grazing sheep. "Good idea, Toph."

"Haru was the one who chose it." Toph picked her toes nonchalantly. "It was easier than trying to find one on the back end."

"Why the back?" Katara asked.

"Because that's where we're going." Sokka sat down; Toph scooted over until her head was in his lap.

"Why?"

"Once the entire force is here we're gong to get on a Fire Nation patrol ship and sneak around back." Toph wiggled her toes. "Twinkletoes should have busted himself out by the time we scale the volcano and penetrate the palace. Aang takes out Azula, and bam!" she slammed her palm on the dirt. "No more war. Zuko takes the throne, Aang steps up, and the world will right itself again."

"Easier said than done." Sokka took out his sword and began sharpening it.

********

"How many more days?" Aang asked Ty Lee as she fed him some bread and cheese, his eyes glimmering with more than a physical hunger.

"Soon." The contortionist's eyes gleamed, as well. "Soon."

********

"They're positive that's their plan?" Azula asked her messenger.

"Yes, milady." He bowed. "They're going to attack head-on, like last time. No deviation, really."

"Why not?"

"They have greater numbers this time, milady. And they got so far last time with a much smaller force."

"Stick with what works." Azula nodded. "Make sure every blind spot is covered, please, General." She addressed the man behind her. "In case they try some new tricks."

"Yes, milady." The general inclined his head and retreated.

Azula resumed pacing.

********

"We've got a slight problem." Sokka put down the letter grimly.

"What?" Toph asked worriedly.

"The cat's watching the back door." He read. Toph cursed colorfully as Katara ran excitedly up the hill they were camped on.

"They're here!" she squealed.

Indeed they were; eight Fire Navy ships were pulling up to the shore, about twelve Water Tribe ships sprinkled among them. Toph's grin was infectious as the three of them rushed down to meet them.

Hakoda was the first one ashore. Sokka and Katara hurled themselves at him, and for the first time in four years they were a family again. Toph attacked Zuko and Haru instead, punching their arms and half-strangling them in hugs.

"Good to see you too, Sifu." Haru wheezed.

"Stop calling me that, Fuzzface." Toph said, half-irritably. "How's Ma, Sparky?"

"_Mai_ is fine." Zuko gave her a mindful look.

"We need to talk." She frowned back. "There's a major problem."

"Don't tell me…" Haru groaned.

"Yep. Azula's keeping an eye on the entire island. We're going to need to sneak ashore somehow." Toph included Hakoda, who was coming up with one of his children under each arm.

"We could swim. No, listen." Katara shushed Toph's protest. "It's really not swimming. I can waterbend a bubble around us, and we can basically walk to the mountain base, where you can earthbend us in and up. She'll never suspect that."

"Katara, you're a genius." Toph slapped her hand on her thigh. "We can use the patrol ship as cover."

"I'm coming with you." Zuko spoke abruptly.

"Me, too." Haru nodded.

"No way," Sokka began before Toph touched his arm.

"There's no reasoning with them when their minds are made up." She rolled her eyes. "Together they're unstoppable. Believe me, I've tried."

"You get the same way, you know." Sokka brushed some of her bangs back.

"You know you love it, though." Toph grabbed his shirt front and yanked him down so she could kiss him. Hakoda, Haru, and Zuko displayed varying amounts of surprise; Zuko blinked, Haru's jaw dropped, and Hakoda, who was drinking water, took an overlarge gulp, choked, sprayed Katara, and spluttered and coughed incoherently.

"What?" Sokka asked his father when he resurfaced. "Ever seen people kiss before?"

"Well…yeah, but…it's _you_ and _Toph_." Haru piped up.

"So?" Toph raised an eyebrow. "It's _me_ and _Sokka_. Got a problem?"

"No," Zuko had the grace to sound calm, "it was just a little unexpected."

"Was it?" Katara asked softly. "At least she took the initiative instead of waiting until the last second." Without another word she stood and walked away.

"Just give her some space, Dad." Sokka caught his father's arm as he tried to follow her. "She's thinking about Aang, and she gets a little touchy when she thinks about Aang."

"Why?" he asked, dumbfound.

"Oh, boy." Sokka rubbed his forehead. "You really don't know her at all, do you?"

"It's been four years, Sokka." Hakoda said defensively.

"Then let me fill you in." Sokka sat down, and for the next half hour attempted to chronicle the events that helped shape Katara (glossing over the bloodbending and the insanity, of course), with the help of Toph.

"She'll be fine in an hour." Sokka finished.

"She doesn't have that long. We need her to help organize now." Toph stood. "And the cat's whiskers need a story to somehow lessen security in the back."

"I've got an idea." Haru grinned. "Leave it to me."

*********

"A spy ship, huh?" Azula rolled her eyes. "How very annoying. How should we differentiate, Captain?"

"I suggest a code word." Captain Onri was young and ambitious as well as a good strategist; Azula mentally marked him down for a promotion. "Like a phrase that there's an answer to, specifically worded."

"Such as?"

"How many firebenders aboard? The answer could range from a number to 'as many as we need.'"

"Very good, Captain." Azula smiled winningly. Onri flushed with pleasure. "I want you in charge of coding the message and making sure the loyalists know what it is. Serve me well and you might find yourself promoted."

Onri took it as a dismissal and left. Jin would help him with the code. It was his idea in the first place.

********

"Haru, you are brilliant." Toph grinned widely. The tall earthbender shuffled his feet modestly.

"Not long now." Katara murmured, looking out to sea, feeling the power of the sea and the waning moon. Not long now before she would be avenged.

********

Aang was getting used to having his hands free during the nights. Azula no longer visited, for which he was grateful. Tonight was the night before Sokka would give the signal and their second chance would come. He wanted to look every inch the Avatar he had become. The razor, so long his enemy, now became his friend as the hair that told of two years of pain fell away.

Clean-shaven and bald, Aang tested his unshackle limbs. Still a little weak, but nothing a good night's sleep and some food couldn't cure. As he slipped back into the chains, he grinned. He was more relaxed and calm than he had ever been.

The Storm was beginning the first sprinkles that would evolve into a hurricane.

The Eagle stretched his wings.


	10. Retribution of a Fire Lord

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Zuko asked Mai for the umpteenth time. Mai rolled her eyes.

"How many times do you want me to say it?" She smiled wryly. "I'll be alright, Zuko."

The former prince put his arms around his Lady, drawing strength and reassurance from her touch.

"You are so…so incredibly beautiful, do you know that?" Zuko whispered into her hair. "I'm sorry I mixed you up into this."

"I chose it." Mai stroked his back. "It's better to be here with you than back with Azula."

"I promise you," he looked her in the eyes, "I will make the world better for us. For our daughter."

"Or son." Mai reminded gently.

"For all of our children." Zuko grinned and kissed Mai fiercely.

"Be careful." She handed him his twin swords and placed a hand on her swollen belly. Zuko's hand covered hers and held it.

"I will." He kissed her again and left. Mai sat down on their bed (it was tiresome to stand for too long nowadays) and quietly cried. She hoped this would all be worth their efforts.

********

Moving an entire army was no easy feat. Luckily, Haru, Toph, and Zuko had worked a plan out months ago. Headquarters was close to the edge of the Earth Kingdom. Toph had made it there with the invasion in mind. They were in farmlands, close to the sea they'd need to traverse in order to penetrate the Fire Nation. They'd held on to two Fire Navy ships they'd stolen two years ago, and had since added about six more, not including the Water Tribe fleet that was due in a couple of days, after they'd reached the ocean.

"General Hakoda sent word that he'd meet us at the bay." Haru informed Zuko at the surface. "We just need to move fast enough to get there."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Zuko clapped him on the shoulder. Haru nodded and signaled the other earthbenders. They were going to take turns pulling the entire army towards the bay; it was faster than marching, as four earthbenders could transport up to two hundred people about twenty miles before another needed to take his place. Altogether, Haru estimated that there were four thousand soldiers in the rebellion—a small number compared to the Fire Nation hundreds of thousands. That meant about eighty earthbenders at a time were needed to pull the army forwards, including Haru himself. The groups were organized, as were the rotation schedules. Haru only needed to give the signal and they'd start moving.

"Let's haul some earth!" he shouted, and began propelling them forwards. In no time they were moving smoothly, cheering and yelling.

The invasion had begun!

*******

"We should be at the place in about a day, Chief." A soldier reported to Hakoda. "Our waterbenders have added some speed, and a note came saying that the mountain is on the move."

"Good." Hakoda grinned. They'd been sailing hard for a day and a half; he'd never seen the sea go by so fast. In another few days he'd be reunited with his children. It had been four years since he'd really spent some time with Katara; after the war, it would be interesting to see what kind of woman she'd become.

********

"The same rendezvous point, eh?" Sokka looked around appreciatively at the grazing sheep. "Good idea, Toph."

"Haru was the one who chose it." Toph picked her toes nonchalantly. "It was easier than trying to find one on the back end."

"Why the back?" Katara asked.

"Because that's where we're going." Sokka sat down; Toph scooted over until her head was in his lap.

"Why?"

"Once the entire force is here we're gong to get on a Fire Nation patrol ship and sneak around back." Toph wiggled her toes. "Twinkletoes should have busted himself out by the time we scale the volcano and penetrate the palace. Aang takes out Azula, and bam!" she slammed her palm on the dirt. "No more war. Zuko takes the throne, Aang steps up, and the world will right itself again."

"Easier said than done." Sokka took out his sword and began sharpening it.

********

"How many more days?" Aang asked Ty Lee as she fed him some bread and cheese, his eyes glimmering with more than a physical hunger.

"Soon." The contortionist's eyes gleamed, as well. "Soon."

********

"They're positive that's their plan?" Azula asked her messenger.

"Yes, milady." He bowed. "They're going to attack head-on, like last time. No deviation, really."

"Why not?"

"They have greater numbers this time, milady. And they got so far last time with a much smaller force."

"Stick with what works." Azula nodded. "Make sure every blind spot is covered, please, General." She addressed the man behind her. "In case they try some new tricks."

"Yes, milady." The general inclined his head and retreated.

Azula resumed pacing.

********

"We've got a slight problem." Sokka put down the letter grimly.

"What?" Toph asked worriedly.

"The cat's watching the back door." He read. Toph cursed colorfully as Katara ran excitedly up the hill they were camped on.

"They're here!" she squealed.

Indeed they were; eight Fire Navy ships were pulling up to the shore, about twelve Water Tribe ships sprinkled among them. Toph's grin was infectious as the three of them rushed down to meet them.

Hakoda was the first one ashore. Sokka and Katara hurled themselves at him, and for the first time in four years they were a family again. Toph attacked Zuko and Haru instead, punching their arms and half-strangling them in hugs.

"Good to see you too, Sifu." Haru wheezed.

"Stop calling me that, Fuzzface." Toph said, half-irritably. "How's Ma, Sparky?"

"_Mai_ is fine." Zuko gave her a mindful look.

"We need to talk." She frowned back. "There's a major problem."

"Don't tell me…" Haru groaned.

"Yep. Azula's keeping an eye on the entire island. We're going to need to sneak ashore somehow." Toph included Hakoda, who was coming up with one of his children under each arm.

"We could swim. No, listen." Katara shushed Toph's protest. "It's really not swimming. I can waterbend a bubble around us, and we can basically walk to the mountain base, where you can earthbend us in and up. She'll never suspect that."

"Katara, you're a genius." Toph slapped her hand on her thigh. "We can use the patrol ship as cover."

"I'm coming with you." Zuko spoke abruptly.

"Me, too." Haru nodded.

"No way," Sokka began before Toph touched his arm.

"There's no reasoning with them when their minds are made up." She rolled her eyes. "Together they're unstoppable. Believe me, I've tried."

"You get the same way, you know." Sokka brushed some of her bangs back.

"You know you love it, though." Toph grabbed his shirt front and yanked him down so she could kiss him. Hakoda, Haru, and Zuko displayed varying amounts of surprise; Zuko blinked, Haru's jaw dropped, and Hakoda, who was drinking water, took an overlarge gulp, choked, sprayed Katara, and spluttered and coughed incoherently.

"What?" Sokka asked his father when he resurfaced. "Ever seen people kiss before?"

"Well…yeah, but…it's _you_ and _Toph_." Haru piped up.

"So?" Toph raised an eyebrow. "It's _me_ and _Sokka_. Got a problem?"

"No," Zuko had the grace to sound calm, "it was just a little unexpected."

"Was it?" Katara asked softly. "At least she took the initiative instead of waiting until the last second." Without another word she stood and walked away.

"Just give her some space, Dad." Sokka caught his father's arm as he tried to follow her. "She's thinking about Aang, and she gets a little touchy when she thinks about Aang."

"Why?" he asked, dumbfound.

"Oh, boy." Sokka rubbed his forehead. "You really don't know her at all, do you?"

"It's been four years, Sokka." Hakoda said defensively.

"Then let me fill you in." Sokka sat down, and for the next half hour attempted to chronicle the events that helped shape Katara (glossing over the bloodbending and the insanity, of course), with the help of Toph.

"She'll be fine in an hour." Sokka finished.

"She doesn't have that long. We need her to help organize now." Toph stood. "And the cat's whiskers need a story to somehow lessen security in the back."

"I've got an idea." Haru grinned. "Leave it to me."

*********

"A spy ship, huh?" Azula rolled her eyes. "How very annoying. How should we differentiate, Captain?"

"I suggest a code word." Captain Onri was young and ambitious as well as a good strategist; Azula mentally marked him down for a promotion. "Like a phrase that there's an answer to, specifically worded."

"Such as?"

"How many firebenders aboard? The answer could range from a number to 'as many as we need.'"

"Very good, Captain." Azula smiled winningly. Onri flushed with pleasure. "I want you in charge of coding the message and making sure the loyalists know what it is. Serve me well and you might find yourself promoted."

Onri took it as a dismissal and left. Jin would help him with the code. It was his idea in the first place.

********

"Haru, you are brilliant." Toph grinned widely. The tall earthbender shuffled his feet modestly.

"Not long now." Katara murmured, looking out to sea, feeling the power of the sea and the waning moon. Not long now before she would be avenged.

********

Aang was getting used to having his hands free during the nights. Azula no longer visited, for which he was grateful. Tonight was the night before Sokka would give the signal and their second chance would come. He wanted to look every inch the Avatar he had become. The razor, so long his enemy, now became his friend as the hair that told of two years of pain fell away.

Clean-shaven and bald, Aang tested his unshackle limbs. Still a little weak, but nothing a good night's sleep and some food couldn't cure. As he slipped back into the chains, he grinned. He was more relaxed and calm than he had ever been.

The Storm was beginning the first sprinkles that would evolve into a hurricane.

The Eagle stretched his wings. "How many petals does a fire lily have, Sazi?" Toph, Sokka, Katara, Zuko, and Haru listened with bated breath underneath a smuggler's hatch in the cargo hold.

"What does it matter when our Fire Lord is twice as beautiful?" Sazi kept her head and performed well. Haru released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Zuko's eyes were fixed on the lid. As the vibrations receded Toph edged the lid of the hatch back.

"Tell Sazi I said well done." Toph saluted a soldier masquerading as a deck hand.

"The Eagle will fly." He returned. "You'd better hurry. I think another one will be along in a few minutes."

"Thanks." Katara clambered out and stood in front of the group. "Here we go."

The soldier opened a specially made porthole and gaped as Katara took the oncoming ocean water and shaped it into a massive bubble. He shut it after them quickly and dipped his mop in the water, swirling it about in anticipation.

******

"Hey, Katara?" Toph said as she and Haru moved them upwards through solid rock, "Let's never do that again."

"Hopefully we won't have to." She smiled. Every pull brought her and Aang closer. She only hoped that they would have a moment for her to apologize.

*****

"There it is." Aang's eyes were fixed on the sky outside of his cell. A flock of messenger hawks, Momo in the lead, were flying around in the shape of a giant swirl.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ty Lee giggled and cartwheeled out of the cell, disabling the guards to both his and Iroh's cells. "Come on!"

Iroh took a moment to overturn his now cold tea onto a certain guard's face. "You really should learn how to make tea without spitting in it. It's much better without your saliva."

Aang gave a short bark of laughter. "Come on. To the back door."

******

Azula tapped her fingernails boredly.

"Madam Fire Lord!" A guard burst in, "The Avatar and your uncle have escaped!"

"Don't worry." She continued tapping. "They're not going anywhere."

"What should we do?"

"They should have some friends joining them soon." Azula stretched lazily. "Detain them for as long as you can, but do not harm them. They'll come to me soon enough."

The guard nodded, swallowing hard. If the Avatar was loose, how were any of them going to survive?

******

The first face he saw was Toph's, dirty as always. Then Haru, with more facial hair than he remembered. Then Zuko. Then Sokka. Then…oh, then…

He was twelve and the first face he saw in he didn't know how long was a pretty, young girl's face. She had the most piercing blue eyes he'd ever seen. She was probably the most beautiful thing he had ever and would ever behold. After two years apart, it was like looking into the eyes of an angel.

"Don't you start that lovey-dovey crap until I'm out of range, okay?" Aang's eyes jerked down to Toph, who was frowning.

"I thought you liked the lovey-dovey crap, sugar muffin." Sokka nudged her slyly. Toph turned around, her braid whipping out to catch Haru in the arm.

"You're lucky you're cute, meathead." Toph earthbended herself up to Sokka's height to kiss him. "I could pound you for that."

"Anyway…" Ty Lee coughed pointedly.

"Oh, yeah." Haru snapped back from his awestruck staring at the contortionist and stopped rubbing his arm. "A little space would be…um…nice…."

Iroh, Zuko, Haru, Ty Lee, Toph, and Sokka spread along the street, their backs turned to Katara and Aang.

"Um…hi, Aang." Before he had a chance to reply she was babbling. "I'm so sorry, I know I should have been here sooner, but it's just been so hectic, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there to stop Azula from hurting you, when I heard that I felt so incredibly help—"

Aang cut her off soundly with a firm kiss. "It's alright, Katara." He said gently. "You owe me nothing. It wasn't your fault." He hugged her tightly.

"I love you, Aang." Katara whispered against his chest (when had he gotten so _tall_?).

"And I love you, Katara." Aang stroked her soft, dark hair. "If we live long enough I'm going to make sure I tell you that twice a day, so you never forget."

"There'll be plenty of time for it." Katara smiled, kissing him again.

"That's nice." Toph said loudly. "Now can we _move_, please?"

"Yeah." Sokka turned his head. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're kind of in the middle of an—"

Explosions and sounds of battle interrupted him from the sea. Toph grinned wildly.

"—invasion." He finished as Fire Nation began flooding the streets. They regrouped, back-to-back. The soldiers came skidding to a halt as the Avatar faced them.

"Our orders are not to harm them." A nervous-looking officer reminded his equally anxious troops. "Don't forget!"

"Well, that's awfully nice!" Ty Lee said brightly.

"Unfortunately, I can't say if our orders are the same." Sokka hefted his sword.

"Sokka." Aang said quietly. "There will be enough bloodshed today without us. They look like fine, upstanding gentlemen; if they're smart, they'll stand down."

After a tense moment a path opened up for them to escape through.

"The hopes of the Fire Nation go with you, Avatar." A soldier in the back piped up. Aang nodded at him and led his seven other companions harmlessly to the palace.

It was satisfying to see people they had been running from for so long finally running from them, Sokka thought smugly. It felt even better to have the original four together again.

"This is the entrance to the throne room." Zuko stopped them in front of a set of ornately carved doors. "Azula should be on the other side."

"Alright." Aang took a deep breath. "If—"

"No." Katara stood with her hand on her hips, feet akimbo.

"But—" Aang began to protest.

"Not on your life, Twinkletoes." Toph said stubbornly. "We've come too far and lost too much to back off now."

"We're in this together, for better or worse." Sokka grinned. Aang seemed overcome for a moment.

"Come on." Toph hugged him (which was strange; she had never voluntarily hugged him before). "Group hug!" Haru, Zuko, Ty Lee, and Iroh joined the four a moment later.

Sokka pulled away first, grunting and swiping inconspicuously at his eyes.

"Let's go." Aang flexed his shoulders experimentally. They felt good.

"We'll guard the door." Haru nodded at Ty Lee, who gave a thumbs-up.

"Are you coming, Uncle?" Zuko asked. Iroh shook his head cheerfully.

"I think I'll go make some tea." He trundled off. Zuko smiled after him fondly.

"The world could be ending and he would still find time for tea." He murmured.

"Some things never change." Aang gripped the door handles firmly. "Some things must."

*****

"I must admit, Avatar, you were quicker than I expected." Azula's voice was everywhere, echoing off the walls. Her golden eyes glittered from behind the cover of fire.

"Your reign of tyranny is over, Azula." Funny, he always thought, two years ago, that it would be Ozai he would say those words to.

"Tyranny? Hardly." Azula stretched languorously. "Except for your little rebellion, there has been peace in the Fire Empire."

"Is that what you're calling it now?" Toph snorted. "Last I checked, it was the Earth Kingdom."

"Trivialities." Azula waved her hand. "It's just a name."

"It's not just a name, Azula." Zuko growled. "It's an entire culture. The four nations were meant to remain so."

"Zuzu." Azula greeted. "Is Uncle dead? You seem to be channeling his spirit."

"You said there was peace." Katara's eyes flashed. "What peace is there while the world suffers under your thumb? What peace is there while your soldiers slaughter and take from innocent people? What peace is there," Katara stopped walking forward and crouched in a fighting stance, "while you are still alive?"

"The Fire Nation has long enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity." Azula stood, casting off the long robes of the Fire Lord. "Under me, the Empire will enjoy the same privilege."

"Meaning all the nations are conquered by you?" Sokka's black blade reflected the firelight. "Over my dead body."

"Have it your way." Azula shrugged and waved two fingers. Six Dai Li agents dropped from the ceiling.

"Traitors." Toph hissed at them. "Cowardly, sniveling _traitors_!"

Without warning she attacked them, fierce anger giving her a dangerous edge. Before they had a chance to fight back she pinned two of them up to their eyeballs in solid earth, dodging attacks from the other four as she sent chunks of rock and metal alike flying. She grinned grimly as a fleck of something warm on her cheek and an agonized screech told her the metal had found its mark in one Dai Li. Sokka and Zuko ran over to help.

Aang and Katara took the opportunity to rush Azula. She raised her arms as if in praise, and the fire burned hotter and higher, so much so that Katara had to stop and retreat. But Aang kept right on going. Without missing a beat he parted the flames, silently thanking Iroh's insistence on continuing his firebending training. Azula looked mildly surprised, but kept attacking. Aang parried them as best he could, eventually blowing her away with a strong gust of air. After she landed on the floor, cat-like, it was Katara's turn.

She mustered all the water in the room, including sweat from Azula's own brow, and it became her tool, making Azula dance around the room to avoid the ice that would stab her. Katara laughed wildly.

"You can't avoid me forever, Azula." She said in a sing-song voice that reminded Sokka, who was now the only one covering Toph's back from the remaining four Dai Li (one having been seriously injured by Toph's metalbending, one unconscious by Sokka' s boomerang), of her former, madder days. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

"I can't believe you thought that six Dai Li and a measly Fire Lord would be enough to stop us." Katara continued. "You could have at least told your soldiers to open fire on us. You were never one to get your hands dirty."

"Can you blame me for wanting to exterminate you myself?" Azula lashed back with fire. "There has been far too much bungling where you and your friends are concerned. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself."

"Five against one? Did you think we'd stand in a neat little line and let you pick us off one by one?" Zuko joined the fight with gusto. "I have to say, little sister, I'm confused."

"Why?" Azula pulled off a brilliant double-hitter that Katara had to duck to avoid and Zuko barely deflected. "I'm more than a match for you."

"Maybe alone," Aang could stand by no longer, "But together you'll find that we can overwhelm you."

"I would suggest surrendering," Sokka dispatched the last Dai Li, and he and Toph joined the group, "before this gets messy."

"Why surrender when you can win?" Azula's eyes flickered around, and suddenly white lightning was shooting out of her fingertips towards him. There was no time to react, no time to think, only that death was coming closer with every heartbeat—

And suddenly Toph was there, shielding him with her body and a rock she'd thrown up, but it was no use as earth, bender, and warrior were blasted backwards and slammed against the wall. As they fell to the ground, Sokka nearly blacked out and pain filled his world, not only for the fire spreading up his side and arm, but for Toph—she was still, too still, impossibly still—

But alive, he thought, relief making him weak at the knees and elbows as he saw her chest rising and falling, barely noticeably. The earth she had used to defend them was still by her, and Sokka saw that it was the space earth he had given her two years before, shrinking back to original size. He knew something was probably broken for both of them, but he couldn't make himself care as he crawled towards Toph. The other three were still fighting Azula.

"Toph?" he said quietly, touching her face softly. The earthbender groaned.

"Sokka…" she wheezed, "my chest…_hurts_."

"I'm not surprised." He curled up against her, like he had for so many nights now. "You took quite a nasty hit. Why?"

"Maybe because, oh, I don't know, I love you?" Toph made a stab at her usual sarcasm, but the truth in her words was all he could ask for.

"Try not to move, okay?" Sokka got to his feet, wincing. It felt like some of his ribs on one side might be bruised, and his left shoulder was dislocated. As long as he got a stab in on Azula, he didn't care how bad it was. He tried his sword, but an unexpected twinge up his back made him sheathe it. He tried his boomerang. His back was fine. He took careful aim and threw it as hard as he could.

His most trusted weapon, more than even his sword, whirred dangerously through the air as it approached the Fire Lord. She had thrown Katara off of her and was about to deal a fatal blow when the boomerang connected with the side of her skull and curved back to its master. Azula shook her head, as if to scare off a fly, and swayed a bit, but retained consciousness, however barely.

"That was for Suki." Sokka picked it up, unable to catch it. Aang hauled off and punched her in the jaw, sending her reeling.

"That was for Toph." Aang massaged his knuckles as Azula spat out a mouthful of blood. As she got to her feet Katara used her water to freeze her hands and feet to the floor.

"By rights I should kill you now." Katara glared. "But I think there are two people in here who have the most claim."

Aang reached inside of his shirt and pulled out one of Azula's needles. She eyed it warily.

"You've made my life miserable for the past two years." He said quietly. "But you've made a friend of mine suffer for far longer. It's his choice if you live or die."

Aang and Katara stepped back and let Zuko walk forwards.

"Come on, then, Zuzu." Azula laughed harshly. "Kill me and be done with it."

"You are cruel and evil." Zuko said calmly. "But you _are_ my sister, and I can't kill you in cold blood."

"So what happens now, Zuko?" Azula cocked her head.

"Agni Kai." Zuko took a few steps back. "Release her, Katara."

"What makes you think she'll fight fair?" Katara asked.

"I know she won't, but Azula, whatever her faults, will always honor the challenge of a worthy opponent." Zuko took a few steps back, still looking his sister in the eyes. "We've both known we were going to end up here in the end."

"If you're sure, then." Katara took back her water and went to examine Toph and Sokka, who had returned to her side.

"Sokka, hold still." Katara told her brother, but he shook his head.

"Toph first." He said firmly. Katara nodded and gently turned Toph on her back. After a moment she sighed.

"It could be worse." Katara withdrew the water. "One of your ribs is definitely broken, but it should heal up after we get it bound up. Your wrists both look a little inflamed, so they're both probably sprained." Toph's eyes widened in horror. "You'll be fine in a month or two, if you don't keep trying to push it."

"By push it, you mean—" Toph began.

"I mean don't push it." Katara said sternly. "Meaning you're going to be out of action with heavy bending for a while."

Toph opened her mouth, shut it, grunted, and nodded. "It could be worse." She agreed grumpily.

"Okay, Sokka, your turn." Katara turned to her brother.

"I think my left shoulder's dislocated." Sokka gritted his teeth. "Aang, I need you to pop it back in for me."

"Okay." Aang took his arm gently; Sokka still winced.

"Do you know how to do it?" he asked.

"Yeah." Aang nodded. "I've popped in enough of my own bones over the past couple of years."

Katara looked away to watch Zuko and Azula. It was hard to see through all the smoke, but by the looks of it Zuko was gaining the upper hand. A loud snap and a bitten-off oath made her head whip back around.

"Thanks, Aang." Sokka rolled his shoulder experimentally.

"Don't do that, Sokka." Katara pushed him down on his back so she could examine him properly. "You could risk popping it right back out."

"How's Sparky doing?" Toph asked Aang.

"Pretty—ooh." Aang grimaced as Zuko went flying. The Fire Prince picked himself up, wiping away a trickle of blood from his nose.

"You know why I think you wanted an Agni Kai so badly?" Azula crowed. "You were always jealous of me. You're trying to prove something right now."

"Yes, I was." Zuko ran at her, two daggers of fire in his hands. "At first, all those years ago, there was nothing I wanted more than to beat you, to show you and Father I wasn't weak."

"But?" Azula met him with her own blue fire.

"But then I started wondering why it meant so much." He beat away her fists and kicked her in the stomach. When she doubled over he brought his knee crashing up and felt her teeth catch on his pants. "I thought that my destiny, other than chasing the Avatar, was to be forever cursed in being second to you. I was willing to do all I could to change that."

"You've failed, Zuzu." Azula leapt back, not even bothering to wipe the blood off her face and teeth. "You're still second-rate, still a step behind." A large blue orb began growing at her fingertips, illuminating her insanely smiling face. "And I've outgrown you. Goodbye, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation."

It was like lightning and fire molded into one new, seamless element. Zuko had only ever heard stories about it—called balefire, it was said only the greatest of dragons had ever mastered it. If Azula could now do it….

Zuko quickly attempted to deflect it like lightning, knowing the fire in it could be dangerous if not also disposed of. He therefore concluded that his lightning path would need to widen. He felt his stomach juices bubble under the strain, making him sweat, but he managed to send her balefire right back at her.

Azula screamed once. Just once. A huge explosion that blasted the doors off their hinges and filled the room with searing heat was the last testament to the only female Fire Lord to occupy the throne, the last of a bloody dynasty.

Azula had fallen.


	11. Beginnings

"She has your eyes." Katara smiled at the ecstatic new father as she held his baby girl up for him to see. Zuko stroked Mai's hair back from her sweaty forehead and kissed it, still holding her hand.

"We have a daughter." He told her.

"I know." Mai smiled tiredly. Katara put a freshly washed and wrapped baby in her arms.

"She's beautiful." Mai looked up at her husband, her eyes shining.

"Like her mother." Zuko touched his daughter's full head of fuzzy black hair.

"She looks more like you, actually." Sokka, who had just come in the room with Toph, inspected the newborn. "Toph, come and…uh…feel!"

Toph was very shy around babies. They were so small and fragile and soft. She gingerly put her hands up to trace the baby's face.

"She's…tiny." Toph concluded.

"Well, no duh." Sokka snorted. "She was just born three seconds ago."

"Don't be such a meathead, Snoozles." Toph frowned. Aang burst through the door, several packages in his arms.

"What'd I miss?" he asked breathlessly.

"Oh, nothing, just the birth of Zuko's child." Katara rolled her eyes. "Where were you?"

"Well, Mai was still in labor, so I decided to pick up a few things." Aang gestured and his full arms.

"That was hours ago." Sokka pointed out.

"Oh, good." Aang said, brightly but absently. "Let's see…I grabbed some komodo chicken, because I remember Mai saying she wanted some…some stuff for the baby…blankets, toys, stuff like that…some books for us to read to it—"

"Her." Zuko corrected.

"Her? Really? Cool." Aang peeked interestedly at the baby before returning to his packages. "Oh, and guess who's here?"

Iroh, Haru, and Ty Lee came through the door, smiling broadly. Ty Lee made a beeline for Mai and the baby and immediately started fussing until Haru pulled her away so Iroh could have his turn.

"Uncle!" Zuko's jaw dropped. "I thought you would be at the North Pole by now!"

"I had to stop by and see how my favorite nephew is doing." Iroh smiled.

"I'm your only nephew." Zuko pointed out.

"And I'm your only uncle. Does that make me any less your favorite? No!" Iroh walked up to Mai's other side. "And I had to check and see my great niece, as well."

"You knew?" Mai asked, surprised.

"Heavens, no! I meant you." Iroh patted her arm. "You are very great. But I suppose I do have a great-niece to add to our family."

"If it's alright with you," Mai smiled, "I'd like to name her Irah."

Zuko and Iroh both froze, staring at her in shock. Mai withdrew a bit, looking self-conscious as ever.

"I think it's' a wonderful idea." Zuko said finally. "Uncle?"

"I…I don't know what to say." The old man's voice was thick with emotion. "But it's alright with me."

That night there was a lot of singing and dancing and celebration (and drinking, from Toph and Sokka's corner of the room), not only for the birth of the new heir to the restored Fire Nation throne, but for the peace that finally returned after over one hundred years. Not without a price, but as Toph said, the best things in life were never free, which made them all the better.


End file.
